Cigarette Smoking in the U.S.
Percentage of U.S. adults aged 18 years or older who currently smoked cigarettes in 2021:1
- 11.5% of all adults (28.3 million people): 13.1% of men, 10.1% of women
- Nearly 15 of every 100 non-Hispanic adults from other racial groups* (14.9%)
- Nearly 13 of every 100 non-Hispanic White adults (12.9%)
- Nearly 12 of every 100 non-Hispanic Black adults (11.7%)
- Nearly 8 of every 100 Hispanic adults (7.7%)
- About 5 of every 100 non-Hispanic Asian adults** (5.4%)
- 2021 tobacco product estimates for American Indian/Alaska Native adults were not statistically reliable
*Non-Hispanic Other includes adults who were categorized as “non-Hispanic American Indian or Alaska Native and any other group” or “other single and multiple races”.
**Non-Hispanic Asians does not include Native Hawaiians or Other Pacific Islanders.
Note: Current cigarette smokers are defined as people who reported smoking at least 100 cigarettes during their lifetime and who, at the time they participated in a survey about this topic, reported smoking every day or some days.
Thousands of young people start smoking cigarettes every day.2
- Each day, about 2000 people younger than 18 years smoke their first cigarette.
- Each day, over 300 people younger than 18 years become daily cigarette smokers.
Many adult cigarette smokers want to quit smoking.
- In 2015, nearly 7 in 10 (68.0%) adult cigarette smokers wanted to stop smoking.
- In 2018, more than half (55.1%) adult cigarette smokers had made a quit attempt in the past year.
- In 2018, more than 7 out of every 100 (7.5%) people who tried to quit succeeded.
- From 2012–2018, the Tips From Former Smokers® campaign has motivated approximately one million tobacco smokers to quit for good.4
Note: “Made a quit attempt” refers to smokers who reported that they stopped smoking for more than 1 day in the past 12 months because they were trying to quit smoking. See CDC’s Smoking Cessation: Fast Facts fact sheet for more information.
- Cornelius ME, Loretan CG, Jamal A, et al. Tobacco Product Use Among Adults — United States, 2021. MMWR Morb Mortal Wkly Rep 2023;72:475–483.
- Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration. 2017 National Survey on Drug Use and Health Detailed Tables. [accessed 2019 Jan 31].
- Babb S, Malarcher A, Schauer G, et al. Quitting Smoking Among Adults – United States, 2000-2015. Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report 2017;65(52);1457–1464. [accessed 2019 Nov 11].
- Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Tips Impact and Results [last updated 2020 Mar 23; accessed 2020 Apr 15].
- U.S. Federal Trade Commission (FTC). Cigarette Report for 2019 [PDF – 1.1 MB]. Washington: Federal Trade Commission, 2021 [accessed 2021 Apr 27].