A new study by researchers at the University of Michigan finds that in 2011, 15.1 percent of American women reported having smoked cigarettes in the past 30 days. This is the eighth straight year where smoking among women has declined.
Seven years ago in 2004, the smoking rates of men and women were similar. That year, 25.3 percent of men smoked compared to 24.1 percent of women. Since that time the percentage of women who smoked dropped from 24.1 percent to 15.1 percent. During the same period, the smoking rate for men dropped more slowly, from 25.3 percent to 21.5 percent.
Over the longterm, the progress is even greater. In 1981, 31.6 percent of all women smoked compared to 26.5 percent of men.