CDC Finds Decreases in Adult Tobacco Use

The most recent findings from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report indicate decreases in the use of commercial tobacco products overall, combustible tobacco products, cigarettes, e-cigarettes, and two or more tobacco products among U.S. adults from 2019 to 2020. Despite these decreases, however, nearly one in five adults (an estimated 47.1 million) reported current tobacco product use in 2020, including 30.8 million who smoked cigarettes.

In assessing national tobacco product use among adults, the CDC analyzed data from the 2020 National Health Interview Survey. The survey assessed use of five tobacco products: cigarettes, cigars (cigars, cigarillos, or filtered little cigars), pipes (regular pipes, water pipes, hookah), e-cigarettes, and smokeless tobacco.

The study found that, in 2020, 19.0 percent of U.S. adults used at least one tobacco product, down from 20.8 percent in 2019. Cigarettes remained the most commonly used product (12.5 percent), followed by e-cigarettes (3.7 percent), cigars (3.5 percent), smokeless tobacco (2.3 percent), and pipes (1.1 percent). Notably, marked disparities in current tobacco use among U.S. adults persist.

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