About one in five United States adults reported currently using any tobacco product in 2019, with most reporting use of combustible products, according to research published in the 20 November 2020 issue of the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report. The battle against tobacco is far from over, said the CDC.
Monica E Cornelius, from the CDC in Atlanta, and colleagues used data from the 2019 National Health InterviewSurvey to examine national estimates of tobacco product use among U.S. adults aged 18 years and older, reports HealthDay News.
The researchers found that an estimated 50.6 million US adults (20.8%) reported currently using any tobacco product, including cigarettes, electronic cigarettes, cigars, smokeless tobacco, and pipes (14.0, 4.5, 3.6, 2.4, and 1.0%, respectively). Among current tobacco product users, most (80.5%) reported using combustible products (cigarettes, cigars, or pipes); 18.6% reported use of two or more tobacco products.
A higher prevalence of any current tobacco product use was seen for the following groups: men; adults aged 65 years and younger; non-Hispanic American Indian/Alaska Native adults; those whose highest level of educational attainment was a General Educational Development certificate; those with an annual household income less than $35,000; lesbian, gay, or bisexual adults; uninsured adults and those with Medicaid; those with a disability; and those with mild, moderate, or severe generalized anxiety disorder. Adults aged 18 to 24 years had the highest use of e-cigarettes (9.3%).
"The implementation of comprehensive, evidence-based, population-level interventions in coordination with regulation of tobacco products, can reduce tobacco-related disease, disparities, and death in the United States," the authors write, writes HealthDay News.
Battle far from over
“The battle against tobacco use in this country is far from over,” said CDC Director, Dr Robert R Redfield. “Tobacco use remains the leading cause of preventable disease and death in the United States.”
According to MyChesCo: “Findings from this study show that disparities in tobacco product use continue to persist,” said Dr Karen Hacker, Director of CDC’s National Center for Chronic Disease Prevention and Health Promotion. “There is still much more that needs to be done to protect everyone from the harmful effects of tobacco use.”
The implementation of comprehensive, evidence-based, population-level interventions, in coordination with regulation of tobacco products, can reduce the burden of tobacco-related disease and death in the United States, according to the CDC.
These evidence-based, population-level strategies include implementation of tobacco price increases, comprehensive smoke-free policies, high impact anti-tobacco media campaigns, and barrier-free cessation coverage.
As part of a comprehensive approach, targeted interventions also are warranted to reach subpopulations with the greatest burden of use, which might vary by tobacco product type.
Tobacco Product Use Among Adults — United States, 2019
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report. 20 November 2020 / 69(46):1736-1742.
Authors
Monica E Cornelius, Teresa W Wang, Ahmed Jamal, Caitlin G Loretan and Linda J Neff
Summary
Cigarette smoking remains the leading cause of preventable disease and death in the United States; however, a variety of new combustible, non-combustible, and electronic tobacco products are available in the United States.
What is added by this report?
In 2019, approximately 20.8% of U.S. adults (50.6 million) currently used any tobacco product. Cigarettes were the most commonly used tobacco product among adults, and e-cigarettes were the most commonly used noncigarette tobacco product (4.5%).
The highest prevalence of e-cigarette use was among smokers aged 18–24 years (9.3%), with over half (56.0%) of these young adults reporting that they had never smoked cigarettes.
What are the implications for public health practice?
The implementation of comprehensive, evidence-based, population-level interventions, combined with targeted strategies, in coordination with regulation of tobacco products, can reduce tobacco-related disease and death in the United States.
As part of a comprehensive approach, targeted interventions are also warranted to reach subpopulations with the greatest use, which might vary by tobacco product type.
[link url="https://consumer.healthday.com/about-one-in-five-u-s-adults-reports-tobacco-product-use-2648991309.html"]CDC: About One in Five U.S. Adults Reports Tobacco Product Use[/link]
[link url="https://www.mychesco.com/a/news/health-medical/50-6-million-u-s-adults-currently-use-tobacco-products/"]MyChesCo story: 50.6 Million U.S. Adults Currently Use Tobacco Products[/link]
[link url="https://www.cdc.gov/mmwr/volumes/69/wr/mm6946a4.htm"]CDC report: Tobacco Product Use Among Adults – United States, 2019[/link]