U.S. Cigarette Consumption Falls to All-Time Single-Digit Low, New Study Finds

The percentage of American adults who smoke cigarettes has fallen to the lowest level ever recorded, according to a new study.

About 9.9% of American adults reported having smoked cigarettes in 2024, a drop from 10.8% in 2023, according to an analysis of National Health Interview Survey data published Tuesday in the journal NEJM Evidence.

The findings mark the first time that the adult smoking rate in the United States has fallen to single digits, a milestone that public health officials have pursued for decades. The decline suggests that the United States may be approaching the Healthy People 2030 goal (a national public health goal) of reducing adult smoking to 6.1%.

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“If this decline continues, the goal could be met or exceeded by 2030,” the researchers, led by Israel Agaku, Ph.D., an Atlanta-based public health researcher and professor, wrote in the paper.

But this milestone does not mean that tobacco consumption has disappeared. According to researchers, about 25.2 million adults still smoke cigarettes (the most commonly used tobacco product in the United States), while nearly 47.7 million adults, or 18.8% of the population, use at least one tobacco product, including cigarettes, cigars or e-cigarettes.

The study analyzed responses from more than 29,500 adults in 2023 and 32,600 adults in 2024 who participated in the National Health Interview Survey, a nationally representative household survey, and the most recent national data available on adult tobacco use.

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The decline in cigarette smoking helped drive a decline in overall combustible tobacco consumption, which includes cigarettes and cigars. According to the study, around 12.6% of adults used combustible tobacco in 2024, up from 13.5% the previous year.

However, the prevalence of other tobacco products, including e-cigarettes and cigars, did not change significantly between 2023 and 2024, according to the study.

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“The lack of change in cigar and e-cigarette use calls for intensified implementation of comprehensive tobacco control policies that address all products,” the researchers wrote.

The study also found that tobacco use was not evenly distributed across the population.

According to the study, men reported significantly more tobacco use than women: just over 24 percent of men used at least one tobacco product compared to nearly 14 percent of women.

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Tobacco use was also higher among certain demographic and occupational groups, particularly adults in industries such as agriculture, construction and manufacturing.

The highest tobacco consumption was recorded among people with a General Educational Development certificate (42.8%), as well as among rural residents, low-income people and people with disabilities.

Young adults were more likely to use e-cigarettes than traditional cigarettes. According to the study, nearly 15 percent of adults ages 18 to 24 reported using e-cigarettes, compared to 3.4 percent who smoked cigarettes.

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Some experts say the findings reflect a change in nicotine use rather than a disappearance of addiction.

John Puls, a psychotherapist and addiction specialist who runs Full Life Comprehensive Care in Boca Raton, Florida, said the trend away from cigarettes but toward continued use of tobacco and e-cigarettes reflects what he sees in patients.

“The majority of my patients use e-cigarettes and various vaping products,” Puls, who was not involved in the study, told News Digital. “They are easier to conceal, can be used almost anywhere, and deliver a much stronger dose of nicotine.”

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On the other hand, cigarette smoking is “more socially unacceptable than ever,” he added. “I work with many patients addicted to nicotine and the vast majority have never smoked a cigarette.”

Puls said this pattern is especially common among teens and young adults and is concerning because cigarettes typically release between 1 and 2 milligrams of nicotine, while some vaping products can contain between 20 and 60 milligrams.

“There is also a perception that e-cigarettes are a safer way to smoke, which contributes to the decline in cigarette consumption,” Puls added.

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Health officials emphasize that no tobacco products are safe, including e-cigarettes, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Smoking is the leading cause of preventable disease and death in the United States and is responsible for approximately one in three cancer deaths, the agency says.

Overall, sustained public health measures (including anti-smoking laws, tobacco taxes, and access to smoking cessation support) remain critical to further reducing tobacco use, the researchers noted.

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The study had several limitations, including changes in how smokeless tobacco was defined over the survey years, reliance on self-reported data, and less reliable estimates for some smaller subgroups.

News Digital has contacted Agaku for comment.