Heavy Smoking Declines In U.S.

By AOL Health Editors

The number of Americans who smoke a pack of cigarettes per day or more has dropped significantly, according to a new study in the Journal of the American Medical Association.

Since the first surgeon general's report on smoking and health in 1964, there has been a major decline in smoking prevalence. In 1965, 56 percent of adult smokers consumed 20 cigarettes or more per day. By 2007, just 41 percent of smokers were using a pack or more.

California, which has consistently led the United States in using public policies to reduce cigarette smoking, has seen the greatest decline in smoking rates. Only 23 percent of all smokers smoked at least a pack a day in 2007. The state has also seen more rapid declines in lung cancer rates.

Researchers also found that fewer people are smoking 10 or more cigarettes per day.

"The rapid decline in prevalence of 10 or more-cigarettes per day smoking across birth cohorts in the mid-1960s is consistent with earlier reports of increased incidence of cessation that occurred following the dissemination of the early scientific reports that smoking caused cancer," researchers stated.

Study authors added that the dramatic change in smoking patterns could be attributed to the reduced number of people who pick up the habit and well as a greater number of Americans who quit smoking.