Surgeon general says U.S. smoking rates have tumbled, but not for everyone

Medical Xpress November 20, 2024
Carole Tanzer Miller

Although the United States has made significant headway in curbing cigarette smoking and secondhand smoke exposure, a new report finds deep divisions remain and they run along predictable fault lines.

Disparities in tobacco use continue to persist by income and occupation, geography, education, race and ethnicity, sexual orientation and gender and mental health status, the new data from the U.S. surgeon general found.

Nearly one in five deaths nationwide—almost 500,000 a year—are still due to cigarette smoking and exposure to secondhand smoke.

“Tobacco use continues to decline. Americans increasingly understand tobacco products are dangerous and addictive, and many are taking advantage of available tools to help them quit. That’s great news,” Xavier Becerra, who heads up the U.S. Department of...

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