Number of Cigarette Smokers in US Has Dropped to 15% of the Population: CDC

Smoking is known to cause a host of cancers and other illnesses and is still the leading preventable cause of death in the United States, killing 480,000 people each year. A report by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's National Center for Health Statistics has revealed that the number of cigarette smokers in the United States has dropped to about 15% of the population, its lowest point in decades. The report said, "The prevalence of current cigarette smoking among US adults declined from 24.7% in 1997 to 15.2% in January-March 2015. Smoking continues to be more common among men (17.4%) than women (13.0%). Smoking is most common among African Americans (18.1%), followed by whites (17.1%) and Hispanics (10.4%)."

Smokers made up 42% of the US population in 1965, a fraction that has dropped steadily over the years, revealed the CDC.

Source-AFP