Key takeaways

More than 20% of adults throughout the world smoke tobacco products, but that number is decreasing each year.
Smoking is a leading cause of death, leading to cancer, heart disease, diabetes, stroke, and respiratory disease. Exposure to secondhand smoke is also harmful.
Smoking has a significant economic cost of more than $600 billion per year in the United States. The majority of this cost is due to medical care and lost productivity.
Those who quit smoking may never be as healthy as a nonsmoker, but they will have significant improvements months to years after quitting.

In this article:

How common is smoking?
Smoking and overall health
The cost of smoking
Tobacco prevention
How to stop smoking
FAQs

In this article

How common is smoking?
Smoking and overall health
The cost of smoking
Tobacco prevention
How to stop smoking
FAQs

Smoking is the leading preventable cause of death in the United States. More than 16 million Americans are living with smoking-related diseases, according to data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). The CDC also reports that cigarette smoking is responsible for more than 480,000 deaths each year in the U.S. alone. That’s more than 1,300 deaths every day.

How common is smoking?

The prevalence of smoking is decreasing year by year, but it’s still a common cause of health issues and a leading cause of death.

Throughout the world, more than 20% of adults smoke tobacco products. (World Health Organization, 2023)
Almost 12% of U.S. adults ages 18 years or older were cigarette smokers in 2022. (CDC, 2024)
About 13% of male adults and 10% of female adults report being smokers in the U.S. (CDC, 2024)

Smoking statistics by year
Year	Percentage of adults who reportedly smoked cigarettes
1965	42%
1970	37%
1974	37%
1980	33%
1985	30%
1990	25%
1995	25%
2000	23%
2005	21%
2010	19%
2015	15%
2018	14%

(American Lung Association, 2024)

Regional smoking statistics

More than 15% of U.S. adults in rural communities are smokers, compared to 10% in urban areas. (American Lung Association, 2025)
Midwestern and Southern states, including Alabama, Arkansas, Indiana, Kentucky, Louisiana, Michigan, Mississippi, Missouri, Ohio, Oklahoma, Tennessee, and West Virginia, have about a 40% higher smoking rate than other states. (American Lung Association, 2025)
The countries with the highest number of smokers in 2022 were Nauru (48.3%), Myanmar (44.4%), and Kiribati (39.7%). (World Population Review, 2024)
The countries with the least number of smokers in 2022 were Nigeria (3.3%), Ghana (3.4%), and Ethiopia (5.2%). (World Population Review, 2024)

Smoking statistics by age

Out of U.S. adults surveyed in 2022, 5.3% of those ages 18 to 24 years, 12.6% of those ages 25 to 44, 14.9% of those ages 45 to 64, and 8.3% of those 65 years and older reported cigarette use. (CDC, 2024)
Youth rates of smoking were 3.8% in 2021, which was a significant decrease from 36.4% in 1997. (American Lung Association, 2024)
In 2024, 1.63 million students reported using e-cigarettes. (CDC, 2024)

Smoking statistics by sex

In 2022, 13.1% of males and 10.1% of females reported smoking. (CDC, 2024)
There is a two-fold increase in the risk of developing lung cancer for women than men when being exposed to cigarette smoke. (American Lung Association, 2024)
About 70% of men and 50% of women reported using e-cigarettes in 2022. (CDC, 2024)

Smoking vs. vaping statistics

Vaping is a smoking alternative that is gaining popularity in the United States, especially among teenagers and young adults. It includes the use of vape pens, electronic cigarettes, and advanced personal vaporizers. Vaping devices create nicotine-infused vapors that the user inhales.

Although vaping is a popular alternative to smoking products, it has not been proven to be safer than cigarettes. Studies show that vaping may have serious health risks, including severe lung damage.

E-cigarettes were the most commonly used tobacco product among middle and high school students in the U.S. in 2024, with 410,000 middle schoolers and 1.21 million high schoolers reporting their use. (CDC, 2024)
In 2020, about 64% of students who smoked reported wanting to quit, and 67% had tried in the last year. (CDC, 2024)
Young people in the U.S. are four times more likely to try cigarettes if they’ve already used vaping products. (Truth Initiative, 2021)

RELATED: Vaping statistics

Secondhand smoke statistics

There are more than 41,000 deaths in the United States each year due to secondhand smoke exposure (CDC, 2024)
There are over 19,000 deaths associated with secondhand smoke in the U.S. each year. (American Lung Association, 2024)
More than 7,300 lung cancer deaths are caused by secondhand smoke each year in U.S. adults who do not smoke. (American Lung Association, 2024)
Being exposed to secondhand smoke increases the chances of getting lung cancer by 20-30% in nonsmokers. (American Lung Association, 2024)
Nonsmokers who are exposed to secondhand smoke are at a 25% to 30% increased risk for developing heart disease. (CDC, 2025)
In the United States each year, more than 8,000 stroke deaths are linked to secondhand smoke exposure. (CDC, 2025)

Smoking cessation statistics

In the United States in 2023, 53% of adult smokers had attempted to quit smoking in the past 12 months. (CDC, 2024)
About 9% of U.S. adults who smoked were able to successfully quit within the past 12 months when surveyed in 2022. (CDC, 2024)
Among U.S. adults in 2022 who tried to quit smoking within the previous 12 months or had successfully quit within the last 24 months, 38% used counseling or medication when trying to quit, whereas only 5% used both counseling and medication. (CDC, 2024)
About half (54%) of e-cigarette users 15 to 36 years of age reported general intentions to quit in 2021, whereas 15% intended to quit within 30 days, and 33% had attempted to quit within the past year. (Truth Initiative, 2024)

Smoking and overall health

Smoking tobacco products can lead to a variety of severe, long-term health problems. Smoking can cause cancer, heart disease, diabetes, stroke, and respiratory disease, among other medical conditions.

Many people turn to cigarettes as a coping mechanism. People with mental illness, including depression and post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), are more likely to smoke cigarettes than the general population. Nicotine is a highly addictive substance, and many people feel an urge or uncontrollable craving to use tobacco products when they experience a strong mood shift, such as anxiety, sadness, anger, boredom, or stress. This is why smoking can easily lead to dependency. When used regularly, nicotine changes the structure and function of the brain’s reward system, creating a physical and psychological addiction.

Smoking cessation attempts can be challenging for people with mental illness, especially if they cannot quit smoking without assistance or support.

Cigarette smokers increase their chances of getting lung cancer by 15 to 30 times compared to nonsmokers. (CDC, 2025)
In the United States, between 80% and 90% of lung cancer deaths are linked to cigarette smoking. (CDC, 2025)
Cigarette smoking causes one of every four cardiovascular disease deaths. (CDC, 2025)
Around 80% of deaths related to chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) cases in the United States are linked to cigarette smoking. (CDC, 2024)

The cost of smoking

Smoking does more harm than just taking years off of someone’s life. Smoking costs the U.S. billions of dollars in healthcare costs and lost productivity each year. Smoking-related illnesses increase the cost of insurance policies, government spending on Medicare and Medicaid, and household spending on medical expenses. Not only that, but smoking-related deaths result in lost wages for surviving family members.

“The current price of cigarettes is about $7.00 a pack, but varies from state to state,” says Bruce D. Foreman, Ph.D., licensed phycologist and co-author of Smokescreen: A Jewish Approach to Stop Smoking. “If someone smokes a pack of cigarettes a day, the amount spent on cigarettes in a year would be over $2,500. If that money were to be invested annually in a mutual fund in an IRA that produced a conservative 5% return over 40 years, it would be worth over half a million dollars,” adds Foreman.

Smoking is expensive for not only the smoker but society as a whole.

The total economic cost of smoking in the United States was more than $600 billion in 2018.
The United States spent more than $240 billion on smoking-related adult medical care in 2018.
Cigarette smoking cost the United States more than $372 billion in lost productivity in 2018.

(CDC, 2024)

Tobacco prevention

It’s important to understand the risks associated with tobacco use and implement preventive measures, such as quitting, avoiding being around smoke, and not exposing children to secondhand smoke. Educating others about the negative effects of tobacco use also plays a key role in prevention.

Prevention comes in many forms, including creating and enforcing harsher public health laws on smoking in public places, raising the prices of tobacco products using tax increases, and promoting smoke-free environments via smoking bans. Prevention ads help create awareness for these programs and encourage people to lead healthier lives without smoking.

Community efforts are also crucial in tobacco control efforts. A positive, proactive community culture can help create a strong foundation for eradicating tobacco use in high-risk populations. This can be achieved by providing people with the proper tools to prevent smoking or encouraging them to quit if they are already smokers.

How to stop smoking

There are several over-the-counter and prescription medications designed to help people stop smoking.

Over-the-counter medications

Nicoderm Cq transdermal patches: These are applied to the skin and contain nicotine, the chemical most responsible for addiction. The medication is slowly released through the body through the skin and can help reduce cravings. Patches are available in different strengths and must be worn for a certain number of hours each day to release enough medication into the blood.
Nicorette chewing gum: This is a form of nicotine replacement therapy that can be purchased at most convenience stores or grocery stores. The gum releases small doses of nicotine as the person chews, mimicking cigarette use.
Nicorette lozenges: These are available in different strengths and dissolve quickly on the tongue. They are meant to be used instead of cigarettes during times when a person might ordinarily smoke.

Prescription medications

Chantix (varenicline): Available by prescription only, this medication can help reduce thoughts of wanting to smoke. However, there was recently a recall on brand-name Chantix. Ask a healthcare provider about your options if you’re interested in Chantix.
Zyban (bupropion): This medication is designed to help reduce cravings for cigarettes and other tobacco products. It also helps with sleep, which can be disrupted when trying to quit smoking.
Nortriptyline: This type of antidepressant is often used when people quit smoking to prevent depression and ease withdrawal symptoms.
Clonidine: This drug relieves some withdrawal symptoms, including anxiety and the urge to smoke. Because it also helps people sleep, this medication can ease those who struggle with insomnia as a side effect of quitting.
Nicotrol: This is a nicotine inhaler designed to imitate smoking with less harmful effects. It delivers nicotine to the lungs as a vapor instead of smoke and helps reduce nicotine cravings as well.
Nicotrol Ns: This is a liquid nasal spray of nicotine replacement therapy that sprays the medication into the nose.

RELATED: Wellbutrin vs. Chantix

There are other, more experimental medications to treat tobacco addiction, including nicotine vaccines. Although not completely understood, the mechanism of these vaccines is based on stimulating antibodies that prevent nicotine from crossing the blood-brain barrier. This would result in a reduced pleasurable effect from nicotine and make it easier to quit smoking altogether.

There are several clinical trials available for those who wish to stop smoking. Talk to your doctor about whether a clinical trial is right for you.

There are many resources available to those who wish to stop smoking:

Smoking questions and answers

What percentage of the world smokes?

More than 20% of the world smokes tobacco.

What country has the least amount of smokers?

Some countries, including Nigeria, Ghana, and Ethiopia, have a very low smoking rate. The average rate in these countries is less than 5% of the adult population.

What percent of smokers die from smoking?

Every year, around 8 million people die from smoking.

At what age do most smokers die?

A national study found that current smokers living in the United States had a three times higher risk of dying prematurely from cardiovascular mortality than those who never smoked. The age of death is highly dependent on the age one begins smoking.

Can lungs heal after years of smoking?

Your body begins seeing minor improvements within days, but it takes many years for your lungs to heal. Even then, they may never be as healthy as someone who has never smoked. Within three months of quitting, your risk of having a heart attack begins to drop. Within two to five years, your stroke risk decreases to that of a nonsmoker. Within 10 years, the risk of lung cancer can drop by 50%. The risk of coronary heart disease is about the same as a nonsmoker after 15 years of quitting.

How many cigarettes a day is considered heavy smoking?

Heavy smokers are typically considered as those who smoke 20 or more cigarettes per day.

Smoking statistics 2025