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Background
Quitting smoking has major and immediate health benefits for men and women of all ages. Quitting smoking dramatically reduces the risk of lung and other cancers caused by smoking, coronary heart disease, stroke, and chronic lung disease. For example, 10-15 years after quitting, the risk of lung cancer decreases to about one-half that of a person who continues to smoke; with continued abstinence from smoking, the risk of lung cancer decreases even further.
Although quitting smoking is beneficial at any age, the earlier in life a person quits, the more likely it is that he or she will avoid the devastating health effects of continued tobacco use. Few smokers can quit successfully on their first attempt; most people will require many attempts before they are able to permanently quit. This emphasizes the need for smokers to begin trying to quit as early in life as possible.
A number of strategies can increase the likelihood of successful smoking cessation, including comprehensive, barrier-free, and widely promoted access to insurance coverage for smoking cessation treatment, and the use of FDA approved smoking cessation medications together with behavioral counseling to support quit attempts. Behavioral counseling and support can be delivered using individual or group counseling, or by quitlines, web and internet, or text-messaging platforms. Cessation rates can also be improved by raising the price of tobacco products, adopting comprehensive smokefree policies, implementing anti-tobacco mass media campaigns, requiring pictorial health warnings on tobacco products, and maintaining comprehensive statewide tobacco control programs.
Measure
Attempt to quit: The percentage of adult smokers aged 18 years and older who attempted smoking cessation within the past 12 months. The attempt-to-quit measure includes both current smokers who smoke every day or some days and who, at the time of the survey, had quit smoking for at least 1 day during the past 12 months, as well as recent former smokers, who quit smoking less than or equal to 1 year ago.
Successful quitting: The percentage of recent smoking cessation success for adult smokers (aged 18 years and older) includes recent former smokers who quit 6-12 months prior to the survey interview among those who met any of the three conditions:
- Former smokers who had quit smoking 6-12 months prior to the survey interview.
- Former smokers who had quit smoking less than 6 months prior to the survey interview.
- Current smokers at the time of the survey interview who initiated smoking at least 2 years prior to the survey interview.
Healthy People 2030 Target
- Increase to 65.7 percent the proportion of adult current smokers (aged 18 years and older) who stopped smoking for a day or longer because they were trying to quit.
- Increase to 10.2 percent the proportion of adult smokers (aged 18 years and older) who successfully quit smoking.
Healthy People 2030 is a set of goals set forth by the Department of Health and Human Services.
Note: Goals are indicated as blue line on Detailed Trend Graphs.
Data Source
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, National Center for Health Statistics, National Health Interview Survey 1998-2018.
Trends and Most Recent Estimates
Attempted to Quit Smoking
By Sex
| Overview Graph | Detailed Trend Graphs | Most Recent Estimates (2018) | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Percent of adult smokers | 95% Confidence Interval | ||
|
Both Sexes
|
54.1 | 52.1 - 56.1 |
Male
|
53.7 | 51.1 - 56.3 | |
Female
|
54.6 | 51.5 - 57.7 | |
By Race/Ethnicity
| Overview Graph | Detailed Trend Graphs | Most Recent Estimates (2018) | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Percent of adult smokers | 95% Confidence Interval | ||
|
All Races
|
54.1 | 52.1 - 56.1 |
Non-Hispanic White
|
51.9 | 49.7 - 54.1 | |
Non-Hispanic Black
|
61.7 | 56.0 - 67.1 | |
Hispanic
|
59.0 | 52.3 - 65.4 | |
By Age
| Overview Graph | Detailed Trend Graphs | Most Recent Estimates (2018) | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Percent of adult smokers | 95% Confidence Interval | ||
|
Ages 18-24
|
68.3 | 58.7 - 76.5 |
Ages 25 and older
|
51.9 | 49.9 - 54.0 | |
By Poverty Income Level
| Overview Graph | Detailed Trend Graphs | Most Recent Estimates (2018) | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Percent of adult smokers | 95% Confidence Interval | ||
|
<200% of federal poverty level
|
55.0 | 52.1 - 58.0 |
>=200% of federal poverty level
|
53.6 | 50.8 - 56.3 | |
By Education Level
| Overview Graph | Detailed Trend Graphs | Most Recent Estimates (2018) | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Percent of adult smokers | 95% Confidence Interval | ||
|
Less than High School
|
50.1 | 45.3 - 54.9 |
High School
|
48.8 | 45.5 - 52.1 | |
Greater than High School
|
54.9 | 52.0 - 57.7 | |
Successfully Quit Smoking
By Sex
| Overview Graph | Detailed Trend Graphs | Most Recent Estimates (2018) | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Percent of adult smokers | 95% Confidence Interval | ||
|
Both Sexes
|
8.3 | 7.1 - 9.7 |
Male
|
9.0 | 7.3 - 11.0 | |
Female
|
7.4 | 5.9 - 9.2 | |
By Race/Ethnicity
| Overview Graph | Detailed Trend Graphs | Most Recent Estimates (2018) | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Percent of adult smokers | 95% Confidence Interval | ||
|
All Races
|
8.3 | 7.1 - 9.7 |
Non-Hispanic White
|
9.0 | 7.5 - 10.7 | |
Non-Hispanic Black
|
4.7 | 3.0 - 7.4 | |
Hispanic
|
6.6 | 4.0 - 10.9 | |
By Age
| Overview Graph | Detailed Trend Graphs | Most Recent Estimates (2018) | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Percent of adult smokers | 95% Confidence Interval | ||
|
Ages 18-24
|
18.9 | 11.1 - 30.3 |
Ages 25 and older
|
6.9 | 5.9 - 8.0 | |
By Poverty Income Level
| Overview Graph | Detailed Trend Graphs | Most Recent Estimates (2018) | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Percent of adult smokers | 95% Confidence Interval | ||
|
<200% of federal poverty level
|
5.9 | 4.7 - 7.5 |
>=200% of federal poverty level
|
10.0 | 8.2 - 12.2 | |
By Education Level
| Overview Graph | Detailed Trend Graphs | Most Recent Estimates (2018) | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Percent of adult smokers | 95% Confidence Interval | ||
|
Less than High School
|
3.1 | 1.8 - 5.4 |
High School
|
6.3 | 4.8 - 8.2 | |
Greater than High School
|
8.5 | 7.1 - 10.2 | |
Evidence-based Resources
Evidence-based intervention programs are available on the Evidence-Based Cancer Control Programs (EBCCP) website that promote smoking cessation and provide guidance to quit.
Additional Information on Quitting Smoking
- Tobacco. National Cancer Institute.
- How to Quit Using Tobacco. American Cancer Society.
- U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. Smoking Cessation: A Report of the Surgeon General. Atlanta, GA: U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, National Center for Chronic Disease Prevention and Health Promotion, Office on Smoking and Health, 2020.
- Public Health Education. U.S. Food and Drug Administration.
Quitting Smoking Resources
- Smokefree.gov. National Cancer Institute.
- Cigarette Smoking: Health Risks and How to Quit (PDQ®)–Patient Version. National Cancer Institute.
- How to Quit Using Tobacco. American Cancer Society.
- North American Quitline Consortium. North American Quitline Consortium.
- Tips From Former Smokers-Media Campaign. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
- Interventions for Tobacco Smoking Cessation in Adults, Including Pregnant Persons. U.S. Preventive Services Task Force.
- Surgeon General’s Reports on Smoking and Tobacco Use. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, National Center for Chronic Disease Prevention and Health Promotion.
- Best Practices for Comprehensive Tobacco Control Programs – 2014. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
- Smoking & Tobacco Use – Quit Smoking. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
- A Socioecological Approach to Addressing Tobacco-Related Health Disparities. U.S. National Cancer Institute. National Cancer Institute Tobacco Control Monograph 22. NIH Publication No. 17-CA-8035A. Bethesda, MD: U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, National Institutes of Health, National Cancer Institute; 2017.
- The Economics of Tobacco and Tobacco Control. U.S. National Cancer Institute and World Health Organization. National Cancer Institute Tobacco Control Monograph 21. NIH Publication No. 16-CA-8029A. Bethesda, MD: U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, National Institutes of Health, National Cancer Institute; and Geneva, CH: World Health Organization; 2016.
- Prevalence and determinants of cigarette smoking relapse among US adult smokers: a longitudinal study. Alboksmaty A, Agaku IT, Odani S, Filippidis FT. BMJ Open. 2019;9(11):e031676.
- Quitting smoking among adults – United States, 2000–2015. Babb S, Malarcher A, Schauer G, et al. MMWR 2017;65(52):1457–64.
- Potential Impact of Cessation Interventions at the Point of Lung Cancer Screening on Lung Cancer and Overall Mortality in the United States. Cao P, Jeon J, Levy DT, et al. J Thorac Oncol. 2020;15(7):1160-9.
- Anti-Smoking Media Campaigns and Disparities in Smoking Cessation in the United States, 2001-2015. Colston DC, Cho B, Thrasher JF, et al. Am J Health Promot. 2021 Jan 8:890117120985818.
- Tobacco Product Use and Cessation Indicators Among Adults - United States, 2018. Creamer MR, Wang TW, Babb S, et al. MMWR Morb Mortal Wkly Rep. 2019;68(45):1013-1019.
- State Tobacco Excise Taxation, Comprehensive Smoke-free Air Laws, and Tobacco Control Appropriations as Predictors of Smoking Cessation Success in the United States. Dahne J, Nahhas GJ, Wahlquist AE, Cummings KM, Carpenter MJ. J Public Health Manag Pract. 2020;26(5):E1-E4.
- Effects of motivation phase intervention components on quit attempts in smokers unwilling to quit: A factorial experiment. Engle JL, Mermelstein R, Baker TB, et al. Drug Alcohol Depend. 2019;197:149-157.
- Smoking Cessation Behaviors Among Older U.S. Adults. Henley SJ, Asman K, Momin B, et al. Prev Med Rep. 2019;16:100978.
- The Relationship of E-Cigarette Use to Cigarette Quit Attempts and Cessation: Insights from a Large, Nationally Representative U.S. Survey. Levy D, Yuan Z, Luo Y, et al. Nicotine Tob Res. 2018 Jul;20(8):931-939.
- Relapse Prevention Interventions for Smoking Cessation. Livingstone-Banks J, Norris E, Hartmann-Boyce J, et al. Cochrane Database Syst Rev. 2019;2019(10).
- Tobacco and Cannabis Co-Use: Drug Substitution, Quit Interest, and Cessation Preferences. McClure EA, Tomko RL, Salazar CA, et al. Exp Clin Psychopharmacol. 2019;27(3):265-275.
- Integrated Treatment for Smoking Cessation, Anxiety, and Depressed Mood in People Living With HIV: A Randomized Controlled Trial. OʼCleirigh C, Zvolensky MJ, Smits JAJ, et al. J Acquir Immune Defic Syndr. 2018;79(2):261-268.
- Heterogeneity in Past-Year Smoking, Current Tobacco Use, and Smoking Cessation Behaviors Among Light and/or Non-Daily Smokers. Omole T, McNeel T, Choi K. Tob Induc Dis. 2020;18:74.
- Assessment of Trends in Cigarette Smoking Cessation After Cancer Diagnosis Among US Adults, 2000 to 2017. Talluri R, Fokom Domgue J, Gritz ER, Shete S. JAMA Netw Open. 2020;3(8):e2012164.
- Income disparities in smoking cessation and the diffusion of smoke-free homes among U.S. smokers: Results from two longitudinal surveys. Vijayaraghavan M, Benmarhnia T, Pierce JP, et al. PLoS One. 2018;13(7):e0201467.
- Associations between marijuana use and tobacco cessation outcomes in young adults. Vogel EA, Rubinstein ML, Prochaska JJ, Ramo DE. J Subst Abuse Treat. 2018;94:69-73.
- Characteristics and Correlates of Recent Successful Cessation Among Adult Cigarette Smokers, United States, 2018. Walton K, Wang TW, Prutzman Y, Jamal A, Babb SD. Prev Chronic Dis. 2020;17:E154.
- State-Specific Prevalence of Quit Attempts Among Adult Cigarette Smokers - United States, 2011- 2017. Walton K, Wang TW, Schauer GL, et al. MMWR Morb Mortal Wkly Rep. 2019;68(28):621-626.
- State-Specific Cessation Behaviors Among Adult Cigarette Smokers - United States, 2014-2015. Wang TW, Walton K, Jamal A, et al. Prev Chronic Dis. 2019;16:E26.
- E-cigarette use and associated changes in population smoking cessation: evidence from US current population survey. Zhu SH, Zhuang YL, Wong S, et al. BMJ. 2017 Jul; 358:j3262.
- The Tobacco Use Supplement to the Current Population Survey. National Cancer Institute.
- The National Health Interview Survey Cancer Control Supplements. National Center for Health Statistics, co-sponsored by the National Cancer institute/DCCPS and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention/OSH and DCPC.
- Population Assessment of Tobacco and Health (PATH) Study Series. National Institute on Drug Abuse, National Institutes of Health, and the Center for Tobacco Products, Food and Drug Administration.