The preliminary findings from the Centers for Disease
Control and Prevention are based on survey responses from more than 27,000
adults.
Cigarette smoking is a risk factor for lung cancer, heart
disease and stroke, and it’s long been considered the leading cause of
preventable death.
In the mid-1960s, 42% of U.S. adults were smokers. The rate
has been gradually dropping for decades, due to cigarette taxes, tobacco
product price hikes, smoking bans and changes in the social acceptability of
lighting up in public.
Last year, the percentage of adult smokers dropped to about
11%, down from about 12.5% in 2020 and 2021. The survey findings sometimes are
revised after further analysis, and CDC is expected to release final 2021 data
soon.
E-cigarette use rose to nearly 6% last year, from about 4.5%
the year before, according to survey data.
The rise in e-cigarette use concerns Dr. Jonathan Samet,
dean of the Colorado School of Public Health. Nicotine addiction has its own
health implications, including risk of high blood pressure and a narrowing of
the arteries, according to the American Heart Association.
“I think that smoking will continue to ebb downwards, but
whether the prevalence of nicotine addiction will drop, given the rise of
electronic products, is not clear,” said Samet, who has been a contributing
author to U.S. Surgeon General reports on smoking and health for almost four
decades.
Smoking and vaping rates are almost reversed for teens. Only
about 2% of high school students were smoking traditional cigarettes last year,
but about 14% were using e-cigarettes, according to other CDC data. -AP
0 comments:
Post a Comment