New CDC Reports Show Gender Differences in Tobacco Usage

New data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention finds that although cigarette smoking has declined significantly, the use of other tobacco products – along with cigarette smoking – remains a significant public health concern.

In 2020, more than 47 million American adults used some type of tobacco product. Some 19 percent of all adults used some type of tobacco product, including more than 12 percent who smoked cigarettes. Only 5.6 percent of Americans with a bachelor’s degree and only 3.5 percent of those with a graduate degree smoked cigarettes.

There are significant gender differences in the use of tobacco products. In 2020, 24.5 percent of all male adults used some type of tobacco product compared to just 13.9 percent of women. Gender differences in cigarette smoking were far narrower. Some 14.1 percent of male adults smoked cigarettes, compared to 11 percent of adult women.

Men were far more likely to smoke cigars than women. Some 6.3 percent of male adults smoked cigars compared to less than 1 percent of adult women. Men were twice as likely as women to smoke tobacco in pipes.

Men were more likely than women to use e-cigarettes and smokeless tobacco products. Some 4.6 percent of male adults smoked e-cigarettes compared to just 2.8 percent of adult women. It comes as no surprise that the biggest gender gap in tobacco usage was in smokeless products. Some 4.5 percent of adult men used smokeless tobacco. This was 15 times the rate for adult women.

The report, “Tobacco Use Among Adults – United States 2020,” can be accessed here.