ATLANTA – Smoking is on
the decline among U.S. adults, according to a new report from the U.S. Centers
for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), the Associated Press reports. In
2012, around 18% of adults surveyed said they smoked.
While the U.S. smoking
rate has dipped for years, it stalled out at the 20% to 21% mark for the past
seven years, although the rate did decrease to 19% in 2011. There’s some debate
that the 2011 rate might have been a statistical bump.
The CDC is currently
analyzing its 2012 figures to determine why the dip happened. The agency’s 2012
anti-smoking campaign used graphic images to encourage smokes to quit. The
agency says that 200,000 smokers phoned the call lines about quitting smoking.
Earlier this year, the CDC released another round of smoking-cessation
advertisements.
The report found that
adults age 65 and older smoked at a 9% rate, while younger adults clocked in at
20%. More men than women said they currently smoked. The current report did not
ask teens about smoking.
“This is a real decline in
smoking in America. I'm ecstatic about it. It's proof that we are winning the
battle against tobacco,” said Patrick Reynolds, executive director for the
Foundation for a Smokefree America. Reynolds pointed to increases in the
federal and state tobacco taxes, more public smoking bans and additional funds
for smoking prevention and stopping initiatives as contributing to the drop in
adults smoking.