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Cigarette smoking by adults in the US has hit an all-time low, CDC reports

Cigarette smoking by adults in the US has hit an all-time low, CDC reports
Posted at 10:57 AM, Jun 19, 2018
and last updated 2018-11-27 15:15:09-05

Fewer people are smoking cigarettes, with 14 percent of adults in the U.S. choosing to light up, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reports.

That's down from 15.5 percent reported in 2016, and it's an all-time low.

Cigarette smoking remains the leading cause of preventable disease and death in the nation, according to the CDC. Men are more likely to smoke than women.

While the stats show fewer people are smoking, there are still more than 30 million in the U.S. doing so. Certain groups tend to do it more than others, including those with lower education and people who live below the poverty level, the CDC reports.

Earlier in June, the CDC announced youth tobacco use dropped.

"In 2017, 3.6 million middle and high school students say they are current tobacco product users," says a CDC report on its website. "The number of those students is down from about 4.5 million in 2011."