While smoking rates have declined in recent years, 38 million Americans still smoked cigarettes on a regular basis in 2016, according to data compiled during the 2016 National Health Interview Survey released by the CDC Thursday.
The percentage of adults who either smoked cigarettes "every day" or "some days" dropped from 20.9 percent in 2005 to 15.5 percent in 2016. Over the same time span, the percentage of people who quit smoking increased from 50.8 percent to 59.0 percent.
Despite this progress, disparities in smoking persisted among certain population groups with especially high rates of cigarette use among males between ages 25 and 64, less educated individuals and American Indians, among other groups.
"The bad news is that cigarette smoking is not declining at the same rate among all population groups," said Brian King PhD, deputy director for research translation in CDC's Office on Smoking and Health. "Addressing these disparities with evidence-based interventions is critical to continue the progress we’ve made in reducing the overall smoking rate."
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