Number of smokers in U.S. continues to drop

Smoking rates in the United States continue to drop as fewer than 15% of U.S. adults currently smoke, according to government statistics from the first half of this year.

The 14.9% rate is the lowest since this study started measuring the number of smokers in 1997, when it was at 24.7%. The recent number also signifies a decrease compared to the data for last year which found that 16.8% of adults were smokers, reported CNN.

A strong decreasing trend can be appreciated since 2009, when the government raised taxes on tobacco, and also from 2012 when graphic anti-smoking material started to be included in packages.

Although the report has been labelled “encouraging” by analysts they warn smoking is still the leading cause of preventable death in the United States. According to CNN, there are still 40 million U.S. smokers and 20 million will die prematurely unless they stop.