Trendspotting: In 2020, The US Smoking Rate Fell to a Record Low

NewsWire: 4/7/22

• The U.S. adult smoking rate fell to an all-time low in 2020, even as cigarette sales rose. Adult e-cigarette use also fell. (Associated Press)
  
• NH: According to a new CDC survey, the cigarette smoking rate among U.S. adults fell from 14.0% in 2019 to 12.5% in 2020. That's a record low, and it continues a years-long downward trend.
• At the same time, the use of e-cigarettes fell from 4.5% to 3.7%. That's a whopping -17.8% decline, which confirms what we have been seeing in other surveys: In fall 2019, a surge in vaping-related illnesses led to a decisive drop in the public’s opinion of e-cigarettes. (See "E-Cigs Go from Hero to Zero.") 

• The fall in the smoking rate may come as a surprise to some of our readers. Last year, we wrote a NewsWire saying that total cigarette sales remained flat in 2020. (See “Are Cigarettes Coming Back?”) How could cigarette purchases stay steady while the smoking rate declined? Apparently, a smaller number of smokers consumed more cigarettes than before, which kept sales steady.
• As we mentioned in our previous NewsWire, lockdowns pushed people to change their smoking habits. For those who quarantined with their families, many likely smoked less in the presence of their children. But for those who quarantined alone, there was no one around to judge if they lit up an extra cigarette. 
• Ultimately, I suspect cigarette sales will resume their decline. As the world reopens, there will be less opportunity for people living alone to chain-smoke without prying eyes. In any case, the emotional stress triggered by the pandemic clearly favored the rising use of narcotics (witness the explosive growth in opioid deaths) rather than stimulants like nicotine.