Adult smoking rate drops in U.S.

Fewer U.S. adults are smoking and smokers light up fewer cigarettes a day, according to a report. Nineteen point three percent of adults said they had smoked last year, down from 21 percent in 2005, suggested the report, released by Centers for Disease Control and Prevention . The ratio for smoking 30 or more cigarettes daily plummeted to 8 percent from almost 13 percent during the same time period. "About half of all smokers will be killed by tobacco if they don't quit," said Dr. Thomas Frieden, director of the Atlanta-based agency. "You don't have to be a heavy smoker or a long-time smoker to get a smoking-related disease or have a heart attack or asthma attack," Frieden continued, "The sooner you quit smoking, the sooner your body can begin to heal." Increases in federal and state taxes on cigarettes and new clean air laws are among the reasons for the drop, noted Dr. Tim McAfee, director of the CDC's office on smoking and health. American Heart Association CEO Nancy Brown commented that the report shows some successes as well as continued disparities. Smoking was most common among low-income, less-educated adults, American Indians and Alaska natives.