Fewer U.S. Adults smoking

Fewer U.S. adults are smoking, a new government report says. Last year, about 18% of adults participating in a national health survey described themselves as current smokers. Health officials with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention are analyzing the 2012 findings and have not yet concluded why the rate dropped.  Patrick Reynolds is the Executive Director of the Foundation for a Smoke-Free America. “This is great news; I’m thrilled that Americans are wising up about quitting smoking.” Educating Americans about the dangers of smoking is a personal fight for Reynolds. “I maybe a grandson of R.J. Reynolds, the tobacco company founder, but I am telling Americans don’t smoke and I want to be on the right side.” He adds that Americans are finally getting the message.  “Americans are getting the message, at last.  Kids are not starting in the numbers that they used too.  People are quitting, it is too expensive and they know how dangerous it is.” Reynolds offers these two main reasons for the decline in American adult smokers. “I think we are seeing this decrease in smoking because of the higher tobacco taxes around the country and on top of that it is almost illegal to smoke everywhere in public; restaurants, bars, etc.” For more advice on ways to quit smoking, call 1-800-QUIT-NOW.