Fewer American adults smoke

Fewer American adults are smoking cigarettes and daily smokers are smoking fewer cigarettes each day, according to a new report released Tuesday from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). The report, which covers data from 2005 to 2010, shows an estimated 19.3 percent -- or 45.3 million -- of American adults, aged 18 and older, continue to smoke, a decline from 20.9 percent in 2005. Of those adults who smoke, 78.2 percent (35.4 million) smoke every day. U.S. adult daily smokers who smoke nine or fewer cigarettes per day rose to 21.8 percent in 2010, up from 16.4 percent in 2005. Those who smoke 30 or more cigarettes per day fell from 12.7 percent to 8.3 percent during the same period. "Any decline in the number of people who smoke and the number of cigarettes consumed is a step in the right direction. However, tobacco use remains a significant health burden for the people of United States," said CDC Director Thomas Frieden in a statement. " States with the strongest tobacco control programs have the greatest success at reducing smoking." California saw a near 50 percent decrease in adult smoking rates since the state began the nation's longest-running tobacco control program in 1988. "You don't have to be a heavy smoker or a long-time smoker to get a smoking-related disease or have a heart attack or asthma attack," said Frieden. "The sooner you quit smoking, the sooner your body can begin to heal." Although data from CDC's National Health Interview Survey show fewer American adults are smoking, the rate of the decline between 2005 and 2010 is slower than in the previous five-year period. "This slowing trend shows the need for intensified efforts to reduce cigarette smoking among adults," said Tim McAfee, director of the CDC Office on Smoking and Health. Tobacco use remains the leading preventable cause of death and disease in the United States. Tobacco use and exposure to secondhand tobacco smoke kill an estimated 443,000 Americans each year. For every one smoking-related death, another 20 people live with a smoking-related disease. In addition to the loss of human life, smoking costs about 193 billion U.S. dollars annually in direct health care expenses and lost productivity. Tobacco control programs that have been proven to reduce smoking also have been proven to reduce the health care costs directly related to tobacco use.