Weekly / November 20, 2020 / 69(46);1736–1742
Monica E. Cornelius, PhD1; Teresa W. Wang, PhD1; Ahmed Jamal, MBBS1; Caitlin G. Loretan, MPH1; Linda J. Neff, PhD1 (View author affiliations)
Summary
What is already known about this topic?
Cigarette smoking remains the leading cause of preventable disease and death in the United States; however, a variety of new combustible, noncombustible, 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.