CDC says the US smoking rate dropped to an all-time low in 2020 despite cigarette sales going up that same year.
The US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) released data saying US cigarette smoking dropped to an all-time low in 2020, in contrast to an earlier Federal Trade Commission (FTC) report for 2020 that said cigarette sales went up for the first time in two decades.
CDC found that in 2020, 19% of US adults (47.1 million) used any tobacco product, down from about 21% in 2019. Cigarettes were the most commonly used tobacco product (12.5%; 30.8 million), down from 14%, followed by e-cigarettes (3.7%; 9.1 million), down from 4.5%.
About 15.2% (37.5 million) adults used any combustible tobacco product, and 3.3% (8.1 million) used two or more tobacco products. From 2019 to 2020, the prevalence of overall tobacco product use, combustible tobacco product use, cigarettes, e-cigarettes, and use of two or more tobacco products decreased. The prevalence of use and estimated number of users in 2020 was as follows: cigarettes (12.5%; 30.8 million); e-cigarettes (3.7%; 9.1 million); cigars (3.5%; 8.6 million); smokeless tobacco (2.3%; 5.7 million); and pipes (1.1%; 2.6 million). Among persons who currently used any tobacco product, 79.6% used combustible tobacco products, and 17.3% reported using two or more tobacco products.
The prevalence of any current tobacco product use was higher among men (24.5%) than among women (13.9%) and among persons aged 25–44 years (22.9%), 45–64 years (20.4%), or 18–24 years (17.6%) than among those aged ≥65 years (11.8%).
CDC credited public health campaigns and policies for the drop in smoking, but external experts claim price hikes by tobacco companies and lifestyle changes during the pandemic likely played an important part.