America’s Smoking Habit Just Hit a Wild Milestone That Once Seemed Impossible
15th March 2026
It’s something that would have seemed impossible just a few decades ago, but somehow, smoking a cigarette has become thoroughly uncool. Research out this week shows how the smoking rate in America has plummeted to a record low.
Scientists studied nationally representative survey data. Based on this, they estimated that less than 10% of U.S. adults smoked a cigarette in 2024—the first time this rate has ever dropped to single digits. Despite the astounding success, more is needed to further discourage the use of cigarettes and tobacco products in general, the researchers argue.
“Maintaining a centralized federal capacity for tobacco prevention and control is essential to sustaining progress in reducing smoking prevalence,” they wrote in their paper, published Tuesday in NEJM Evidence.