One In Five US Adults Smokes

(NewsCore) - Despite declining numbers of smokers in the United States, 20 percent of all adults still smoke and more than half of children under the age of 11 are still exposed to secondhand smoke, the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) said Tuesday.

Of the 54 percent of children who live with smokers and inhale their secondhand smoke, 98 percent of them have measurable levels of toxic chemicals in their bodies.

According to the CDC, the number of adult smokers dropped between 2000 and 2005, but smoking has remained at 20 percent since 2005. In 2009, more men (nearly 24 percent) than women (about 18 percent) smoked and about 31 percent of those living below the poverty line smoked.

Utah has the lowest percentage of adult smokers, followed by California. Smoking rates fell by 40 percent in California between 1998 and 2006. As a result, lung cancer rates are declining four times faster than in the rest of the nation.

The CDC added that within five years there would be 5 million fewer smokers in the nation if all states followed the CDC guidelines for tobacco control programs.

Smoking increases risk factors of numerous diseases including heart disease and lung cancer. Exposure to secondhand smoke causes sudden infant death syndrome and low birth weight, acute respiratory infections, middle ear disease, exacerbated asthma, respiratory symptoms, and decreased lung function in children.

"Smoking is still the leading preventable cause of death in this country," said CDC Director Thomas R. Frieden. "But progress is possible. Strong state laws that protect nonsmokers from secondhand smoke, higher cigarette prices, aggressive ad campaigns that show the human impact of smoking and well-funded tobacco control programs decrease the number of adult smokers and save lives."