Though cigarette smoking among U.S. adults reached an all-time low of 13.7 percent in 2018, nearly 20 percent of adults (49.1 million) used tobacco products, according to the CDC's Nov. 15 Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report.
The CDC, FDA and National Cancer Institute analyzed data from 25,417 adults who completed the 2018 National Health Interview Survey. The survey measured current cigarette smoking (smoked at least 100 cigarettes in lifetime) and current use for other tobacco products, such as cigars, hookahs, e-cigarettes and smokeless tobacco, among others.
The study found 19.7 percent of adults currently used a tobacco product in 2018. Cigarettes remained the most commonly used product (13.7 percent), followed by cigars, cigarillos or filtered little cigars (3.9 percent); e-cigarettes (3.2 percent); smokeless tobacco (2.4 percent); and pipes or hookahs (1 percent). Almost 19 percent of adults used two or more tobacco products.
Adult e-cigarette use increased from 2.8 percent in 2017 to 3.2 percent in 2018, a reversal from the 2014-17 decline. Among adults ages 18-24, e-cigarette use rose from 5.2 percent in 2017 to 7.6 percent in 2018.
Use of any tobacco product in 2018 was highest among males, adults 65 years and younger, non-Hispanic American Indian/Alaska Natives, those with a General Educational Development certificate, and those with serious psychological distress.
Significant increases in three cigarette cessation indicators occurred during 2009-18. Nearly 70 percent of current adult cigarette smokers wanted to quit, and over half attempted to quit the preceding year.
Cigarette smoking is the leading cause of preventable disease and death in the U.S.