Smoking rates declined by over 10 percentage points from 2011 to 2022 among adults aged 18 to 24, but declined more slowly among older adults, a study published Dec. 1 in JAMA Health Forum found.
The study, written by researchers at the University of British Columbia in Vancouver, University of Michigan in Ann Arbor and Georgetown University in Washington, D.C., compiled data for 353,555 U.S. adults surveyed by the National Health Interview Survey from 2011 to 2022.
Here are five findings to note:
- Smoking rates among adults aged 18 to 24 declined from 19.2% in 2011 to 4.9% in 2022, and declined from 22.4% in 2011 to 11.4% in 2022 among those aged 25 to 39.
- Rates declined more slowly among adults aged 40 to 64, from 21.2% in 2011 to 15.2% in 2022.
- Smoking prevalence increased slightly among adults aged 65 and older, from 8.7% in 2011 to 9.4% in 2022.
- Smoking decreased among all income groups in the study but decreased the most among those with incomes higher than 400% of the federal poverty level.
- Smoking rates may have been affected by the COVID-19 pandemic, but no clear patterns emerged in the data, the researchers wrote.
The findings reflect other research that shows rapidly declining rates of smoking prevalence among youth translate to lower smoking prevalence among young adults. Higher rates of smoking among older adults point to a need for more investment in smoking cessation programs, the researchers wrote.
"While the future looks promising for younger populations, relatively constant trends in smoking prevalence among adults 65 years or older and the relatively slow declines among adults aged 40 to 64 years are concerning, since most smoking-related deaths occur at older ages," the researchers wrote.
See the full study here.