US smoking rates decline despite population growth

A new report from the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reveals that the smoking rate in The US was down from 21 per cent in 2005 to just 18 per cent last year.

The total number of smokers in the US has fallen from over 45 million to just over 42 million, even as the population density had increased.

Further, the smoking community, had seen the number of daily smokers decline from 80.8 per cent in 2005 to about 76.9 per cent last year too.

According to Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids executive director Susan Liss, states had cut and severely underfunded tobacco prevention and cessation programmes, limiting the decline in smoking.

moreover, progress at the state level in enacting higher tobacco taxes and smoke-free laws had slowed greatly, she added.

While the overall smoking rates had fallen, the numbers were not declining evenly across the different demographics. For example, men with lower education levels continued to smoke as did people living in the South and Midwest.

People who lived below the poverty line also seemed to be unwilling ot unable rid themselves of the habit.

Also, members of the LGBT community seemed quite affixed on the affliction - and this was the  first time that the report had included this group as a ''community'' big enough to study.

In an official statement, the researchers say, ''The disparities underscore the importance of enhancing the implementation and reach of proven strategies to prevent and reduce tobacco use among these groups, as well as expanding questions on surveillance tools to better capture data on subpopulations with the greatest burden of tobacco use.''

Meanwhile reported that the smoking rate was about the same as in 2012, and translated to about 42 million smokers.

The report said smoking was more common in certain group, like the poor, less educated, and gays and bisexuals.

The US smoking rate had stalled at around 20 to 21 per cent, until it started falling marginally a few years ago.

In a survey conducted last year , 17.8 per cent of adults described themselves as smokers.

Smoking the US' leading cause of preventable illness was responsible for the majority of lung cancer deaths and was a factor in heart attacks and a variety of other illnesses.