Smoking Rates Fall to New Low and Causes of It

For hundreds of years, smoking has been an enormous world issue because of its negative effects on the human body. Many petitions and campaigns are opened to encourage people to stop smoking, and it does show a huge impact on the society. This is proven by the Gallup chart about the radical change of the number of cigarettes smoked per day in the US, along with the increasing prices and taxes of each cigarette pack. In contrast, in some states, especially Kentucky, smoking rates does not change as much as in other states.

The chart of Gallup demonstrates the smoking behavior of American people. It answers the question of how many cigarettes US smokers smoke each day from 1944 to 2009. The percentage of people who smoke less than one pack per day was highest among the percentage of one pack a day smokers and more than one pack a day smokers from 1944 to 2009. From 1944 to 1979, the percentage of people that smoke less than a pack a day and one pack per day were quite stable, changing around 43% to 35% for less than one pack a day and 33% to 30% for one pack a day smokers. While heavy smokers or more than one pack a day smokers’ percentage could jump from 16% to 30%. Also, from 1979 to 2009, the chart reveals a significant increase of 33% for pack-a-day smokers, a sharp decrease of 29% for heavy smokers and a gradual decline of about 4% for pack-a-day smokers.

According to Gallup, smoking rates in the US are dipping over time. Researchers have found three main causes that make Americans no longer want to smoke. First, the increasing in prices reduces smoking rates dramatically. The price of each cigarette pack increased from less than a dollar to over five dollars between 1970 and 2009, leading people to change from heavy smoking to light smoking, and from light smoking to non-smoking. Moreover, with warning banners about smoking everywhere, people now realize the danger of smoking, and it becomes undesirable to everybody. In addition, most smokers