Burden of Cigarette Use in the U.S.

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Current Cigarette Smoking Among U.S. Adults Aged 18 Years and Older

By Sex | By Age Group | By Race/Ethnicity | By U.S. Census Region | By Education | By Marital Status | By Annual Household Income | By Sexual Orientation | By Health Insurance Coverage | By Disability | By Generalized Anxiety Disorder

Cigarette smoking remains the leading cause of preventable disease and death in the United States.

Cigarette smoking kills more than 480,000 Americans each year.1 Cigarette smoking cost the United States more than $600 billion in 2018, including more than $240 billion in healthcare spending and nearly $372 billion in lost productivity.1,2,3,4

In 2021, an estimated 11.5% (28.3 million) of U.S. adults currently smoked cigarettes. Current cigarette smoking was defined as smoking ≥100 cigarettes during a lifetime and now smoking cigarettes either every day or some days.5

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Percentage of persons aged ≥18 years who reported cigarette use “every day” or “some days” at time of survey and reported smoking at least 100 cigarettes during their lifetime.5

The cigarette smoking rates of adults within the United States, organized by sex.
 By Sex Percentage
Male 13.1%
Female 10.1%

The cigarette smoking rates of adults within the United States, organized by age.
By Age Group (yrs) Percentage
18–24 5.3%
25–44 12.6%
45–64 14.9%
≥65   8.3%

The cigarette smoking rates of adults within the United States, organized by race/ethnicity.
By Race/Ethnicity Percentage
White, non-Hispanic 12.9%
Black, non-Hispanic 11.7%
Asian, non-Hispanic 5.4%
Hispanic 7.7%
Other, non-Hispanic 14.9%

NOTE: 2021 tobacco product estimates for American Indian/Alaska Native adults were not statistically reliable.

The cigarette smoking rates of adults within the United States, organized by U.S. Census region.
 By U.S. Census Region Percentage
Northeast 10.4%
Midwest 14.0%
South 12.4%
West 8.9%

The cigarette smoking rates of adults within the United States, organized by level of education.
By Education (adults aged ≥25 yrs) Percentage
0–12 yrs (no diploma) 20.1%
GED 30.7%
High school diploma 17.1%
Some college, no degree 16.1%
Associate degree (academic or technical/vocational) 13.7%
Undergraduate degree (bachelor’s)   5.3%
Graduate degree (Master’s, doctoral or professional)   3.2%

The cigarette smoking rates of adults within the United States, organized by marital status.
By Marital Status Percentage
Married/Living with partner 10.4%
Divorced/Separated/Widowed 16.8%
Single/Never married/Not living with partner 10.9%

The cigarette smoking rates of adults within the United States, organized by annual household income.
By Annual Household Income Percentage
Low Income 18.3%
Middle Income 12.3%
High Income 6.7%

The cigarette smoking rates of adults within the United States, organized by sexual orientation.
 By Sexual Orientation Percentage
Heterosexual/Straight 11.4%
Lesbian/Gay/Bisexual 15.3%

The cigarette smoking rates of adults within the United States, organized by health insurance coverage.
By Health Insurance Coverage Percentage
Private insurance 8.6%
Medicaid 21.5%
Medicare only (aged ≥65 yrs) 8.4%
Other public insurance 13.9%
Uninsured 20.0%

The cigarette smoking rates of adults within the United States, organized by disability/limitation.
 Has a Disability Percentage
Yes 18.5%
No 10.9%

The cigarette smoking rates of adults within the United States, organized by serious psychological distress.
Regularly Having Feelings of Severe Psychological Distress†††† Percentage
Yes 28.1%
No 10.9%
The cigarette smoking rates of adults within the United States, organized by serious psychological distress.
Were ever told by a healthcare provider that they had depression§§§§§ Percentage
Yes 19.4%
No 9.9%

††††Serious psychological distress was assessed using the recoded question “Experienced serious psychological distress – K6 scale”, which was recoded from the answers to the 6-item Kessler scale: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/22351472/

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