Smoking Rate Drops Below 15%...Thanks to Vaping?

The adult U.S. smoking rate dropped below 15 percent for the first time for the first three quarters of 2017. The news came in a report from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).

Among adults age 18 or over, the smoking rate was just 14.1 percent for the months January to September — a 10.8 percent drop over the previous full year. The smoking rate was 15.8 percent in 2016.

The estimates are based on data from the National Health Interview Survey, which has used data collected by the U.S. Census Bureau to analyze population trends for 50 years. The data was analyzed and the estimates compiled by the CDC’s National Center for Health Statistics.

The adult smoking rate in 2009 was 20.6 percent. Since that year the rate has stayed below 20 percent. The 2017 number represents a 31.6 percent decline in eight years. E-cigarette use has grown rapidly during that period, although the CDC has never acknowledged that vaping has played a part in the decline of smoking.