Dispatch: Smoking Decline Stalled

After four decades of declines, the U.S. smoking rate appears to have plateaued, the CDC reports. Some 46 million Americans — about one in five adults — report puffing regularly, the CDC says in Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report. Last year the CDC’s National Health Interview Survey and the Behavior Risk Factor Surveillance System indicated 20.6 percent of U.S. residents 18 and over reported being current smokers. That’s not statistically different from the 20.9 percent who smoked in 2005, or for any year in between, the CDC says.

”Of course, we’ve come a long way from the 1940s, 1950s and 1960s when smoking rates approached the 60 percent rate in some subgroups,” noted Dr. Whelan, “but we still have a long way to go.”

“Wouldn’t it be nice if more of the majority of smokers who say they wish to quit each year, were able to successfully quit — more than the 10 percent or so who are able to quit using the currently approved cessation aids?” asks Dr. Ross. “While we know some smokers are able to quit cold-turkey, if we gave them an effective nicotine replacement method, I think it would help. Something that would deliver nicotine without the toxic smoke? Something like smokeless tobacco, or perhaps even e-cigarettes? Further, such methods would completely eliminate the problem of second-hand smoke.”

Adds Stier: “The CDC and Harm Reduction opponents can no longer argue that the current methods are doing the trick.”