NEW YORK — A government report says the smoking rate for American adults dipped below 18 percent for the first time last year.
That’s still about the same rate found in 2012 and translates to about 42 million smokers.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention released the findings Wednesday. Smoking was more common among certain groups, such as the poor, less educated, and gays and bisexuals.
The nation’s smoking rate had stalled around 20 percent to 21 percent, until it started dropping a bit a few years ago. In last year’s survey, 17.8 percent of adults described themselves as smokers.
Smoking is the nation’s leading cause of preventable illness. It’s responsible for the majority of lung cancer deaths and is a factor in heart attacks and a variety of other illnesses.
