According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), the percentage of adult cigarette smokers has reached and all-time low in the United States.
The agency said in a report on Friday, and cited by UPI, the percentage of smokers fell to 16.8 percent in the year 2014, dropping from 20.9 percent in 2005. Adults between the ages of 18 and 24 recorded the most significant drop, but the numbers may have been influenced by that group having an increase in the use of alternative smoking methods.
It is suspected that e-cigarettes and hookahs are drawing interest to those in the 18-24 demographic, and that their use is lowering the number of cigarette smokers reporting
CDC Director Tom Frieden said that smoking kills a half-million Americans each year and costs more than $300 billion in a statement, released Thursday. He added that the new report indicated real progress in helping smokers to kick the habit and that much more progress was possible.
This report released by the agency is a part of the Healthy People 2020 objective, a program designed to lower nationwide cigarette consumption to 12 percent or less by that year.
Interestingly, the rates of smokers among those who only have Medicaid as their primary insurance were higher at 29.1 percent, and those individuals with no insurance at all recorded a 27.9 percent rate of smokers.
Smokers with Medicare or a private insurance plan reported a far lower number at 12.9 percent for private insurance and 12.5 for those on Medicare. The fact that many private insurance plans offer incentives to non-tobacco users may be an influence on these results.
The report came out just a few days after the a large-scale smoking ban in public housing was announced by the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD).
HUD Secretary Julian Castro said the agency had a responsibility to protect its residents from the harmful effects of secondhand smoke, and the new ban would save $153 million per year in healthcare costs and improve the general health of more than 760,000 children in the US.
The CDC says it thinks the drop in smokers could be a direct result of new laws and programs designed to assist smokers in quitting.