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BRIEF: Number of U.S. smokers reaches lowest level ever

The New York Daily News - 6/19/2018

June 19--Americans are packing it in and smoking less than ever before.

Just 13.9% of U.S. adults lit up in 2017, down from 15.5% a year before, according to a survey released by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

The number represents a huge decrease from the more than 40% of adults who smoked in the early 1960s, when information about its severe health effects first became promulgated.

Today's results show the lowest level of smokers in the U.S. ever, down from the previous record last year and 19.7 in 2007.

The survey did not measure the use of electronic cigarettes, which have risen in popularity despite continued questions about their long-term health impacts.

It did find a disparity between large metropolitan areas such as New York, where the percentage of smokers was 11.4, compared to more rural areas where the percentage was 21.5.

While Tuesday's survey results showed a decline in smoking among adults, figures from last week show that high school students are smoking less at only 9%, as well as having less sex and using illicit drugs less.

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