Fewer Americans Smoking Cigars

ROCKVILLE, Maryland—The number of people who began smoking cigars dropped 22% in 1999, according to a new analysis of data from the 2000 National Household Survey on Drug Abuse (NHSDA). The decline came after a dramatic 208% rise from 1990 to 1998, when nearly 5 million Americans smoked their first cigar.

According to the survey, 400,000 fewer youths (ages 12 to 17) and another 400,000 fewer young adults (ages 18 to 25) took up cigar smoking in 1999 than in 1998. Interestingly, 18- to 20-year-olds were significantly more likely to smoke cigars than 21- to 25-year-olds.