Cigarette smoking among U.S. adults has fallen to a new record low, according to early estimates from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
The CDC’s 2025 National Health Interview Survey found that just 9% of American adults currently smoke cigarettes.
That is down from 10% in 2024 and continues a long-term decline in traditional tobacco use.
The findings suggest that renewed smoking imagery in movies, television and celebrity culture has not translated into a broader comeback among ordinary Americans.
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The CDC survey is based on responses from more than 24,000 adults.
Respondents were counted as current smokers if they had smoked at least 100 cigarettes in their lifetime and currently smoked every day or on some days.
While cigarette smoking has continued falling, adult e-cigarette use appears to have leveled off.
The survey found vaping holding at around 7% in 2025 after rising slightly in previous years.
Public health officials have long viewed the decline in cigarette smoking as a major success because smoking is linked to cancer, heart disease, lung disease and other serious health problems.
At the same time, vaping remains a concern because e-cigarettes are regulated as tobacco products and often contain nicotine.
A separate study published in New England Journal of Medicine Evidence found that total tobacco product use remained much higher than cigarette smoking alone.
That study, based on 2023 and 2024 survey data from more than 60,000 adults, estimated total tobacco use at about 19% when products such as e-cigarettes were included.
The gap shows how nicotine use has shifted rather than disappeared entirely.
Fewer adults are smoking traditional cigarettes, but millions still use vaping products or other nicotine-related products.
The new CDC numbers point to a continued cultural and public health shift away from smoking.
But they also show that public health agencies are still dealing with the rise of alternative nicotine products, especially as e-cigarettes remain popular among some adults and younger users.
For now, the trend is clear: cigarette smoking is at its lowest recorded level in the U.S., while vaping appears to have stopped rising.
Why It Matters
The record-low smoking rate marks a major public health milestone. But the leveling off of e-cigarette use shows nicotine consumption has not disappeared — it has shifted into newer products that regulators and health officials continue to monitor.
What Comes Next
Health officials will likely continue tracking whether cigarette smoking keeps falling and whether vaping remains stable or rises again. Regulators may also face renewed pressure to address flavored e-cigarettes, youth vaping and nicotine addiction.
New CDC estimates show adult cigarette smoking in the U.S. fell to a record low, while e-cigarette use leveled off.
The cigarette smoking rate among U.S. adults dropped to another all-time low last year, with 1 in 11 adults saying they were current smokers, according to government survey data released this week.https://t.co/J7kft938wF pic.twitter.com/SupAStnamo
— ABC News Live (@ABCNewsLive) May 30, 2026
