New CDC Data Shows Smoking Continues to Fall as Vaping Increases

WASHINGTON, D.C. – The American Vaping Association, a leading advocate for the benefits of vapor products such as electronic cigarettes, is calling attention to new survey data on adult smoking from the National Health Interview Survey (NHIS) released today by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control & Prevention (CDC).  The report finds that smoking by adults declined to a historic low of 15.2% in the first quarter of 2015 (down from 16.8% in 2014 and 19.4% in 2010).

“This is great news that is worthy of celebration. Public health benefits every time a smoker quits,” said Gregory Conley, President of the American Vaping Association. “If this decline continues, we stand a chance of actually attaining a 12% smoking rate by 2020,” added Conley, referring to the CDC’s Healthy People 2020 goal for smoking by adults in the year 2020.

“It is undeniable that vaping has played a significant role in promoting cessation among adult smokers,” said Conley. “It is time for activists to stop making nonsense claims that vaping is somehow leading to more smoking by adults or teens.”

A prior analysis of the 2014 NHIS data by University of Louisville Professor Dr. Brad Rodu found that nearly 2 million former smokers reported vaping during the prior month, with 1.25 million of them being daily users. While it is not possible to prove how many of these these ex-smokers used vaping to quit smoking, it’s notable that 85% of the 2 million former smokers using e-cigarettes reported quitting in the prior five years (i.e., during the time period e-cigarettes have been available).

After experiencing strong declines from 1997 to 2004 (24.7% to 20.9%), adult smoking rates entered a period of stagnation from 2005 to 2009. In 2010, the first sign of a new period of decline emerged, as smoking dropped to 19.4% (from 20.6% in 2009).  Since then, smoking has fallen to 16.8% in 2014 and 15.2% in the first quarter of 2015.