Smoking decline continues in US

The prevalence of tobacco smoking in the US fell from 18.9 per cent in 2011 to 18.0 per cent in 2012, according to estimates based on data from the 2012 National Health Interview Survey and previous surveys.

Smoking fell from 24.7 per cent in 1997 to 20.9 per cent in 2005, and from 20.6 per cent in 2009 to 18.0 per cent in 2012.

Last year, 20.4 per cent of men and 15.8 per cent of women were current smokers, while 25.3 per cent of men and 19.1 per cent of women were former smokers.

At the same time, the number of men and women who had never smoked stood at 54.3 per cent and 65.2 per cent respectively.

Taking men and women together, smoking was most common among those aged 18-44 (20.3 per cent), while the smoking prevalence among those 45-64 was 19.5 per cent and the prevalence among those over 65 was 8.9 per cent.

For adults aged 18 and over, and for the age groups 18–44 and 65 and over, men were more likely than women to be current smokers.