E-cigarettes used by 4.2% of men, 3.4% of women in 2014, as smoking declined
The first chart shows the percentages of men and women in the United States who smoked in 2013 and 2014, along with e-cigarette use in 2014. Among men, smoking declined from 20.5 percent to 18.8 percent, despite the fact that 4.2 percent were e-cigarette users. Smoking among women also declined, although the drop wasn’t as strong. Overall, 3.4 percent of women currently used e-cigarettes in 2014.
The remaining charts show e-cigarette and smoking rates for men and women ages 18-24, 25-44, 45-64 and 65+ years. Smoking declined among men at all ages, with the largest declines at 18-24 years (-16 percent), 45-64 years (-11 percent) and 65+ years (-9 percent). Among women, declines in smoking were only seen in those 18-24 years (-3 percent) and 45-64 years (-7 percent).
E-cigarette use among men was 5.8 percent at age 18-24 and was lower in each successive age group. The same pattern occurred among women, with 4.4 percent of 18-24 year olds vaping.
While prohibitionists insist that e-cigarettes will “renormalize” smoking and erase decades of progress, CDC data clearly show that smoking continued to decline in 2014 as e-cigarettes surge in popularity.
