Number of adult smokers in the United States 1965-2021

As of 2021, around 28.3 million adults in the United States were current cigarette smokers. Although this figure is still high, it is significantly lower compared to previous years. For example, in 2011, there were almost 44 million smokers in the United States.

Smoking demographics in the U.S.

Although smoking in the U.S. has decreased greatly over the past few decades it is still more common among certain demographics than others. For example, men are more likely to be current cigarette smokers than women, with 13 percent of men smoking in 2021, compared to 10 percent of women. Furthermore, non-Hispanic whites and non-Hispanic Blacks smoke at higher rates than Hispanics and non-Hispanic Asians, with almost 13 percent of non-Hispanic whites smoking in 2021, compared to just over five percent of non-Hispanic Asians. Certain regions and states also have a higher prevalence of smoking than others, with around 20 percent of adults in West Virginia considered current smokers, compared to just six percent in Utah.

The health impacts of smoking

The decrease in smoking rates in the United States over the past decades is due to many factors including policies and regulations limiting cigarette advertising, promotion, and sales, price increases for cigarettes, and widespread awareness among the public of the dangers of smoking. According to the CDC, those who smoke are two to four times more likely to develop coronary heart disease and stroke and around 25 times more likely to develop lung cancer than nonsmokers. In fact, it is estimated that around 81 percent of lung cancer deaths in the United States can be attributed to cigarette smoking, as well as 72 percent of larynx cancer deaths. Cigarette smokers are also much more likely to develop chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), with around 16 percent of current smokers in the U.S. living with COPD in 2021, compared to just three percent of those who had never smoked.