Smoking Rates Are Down — Especially Among Women
The C.D.C has published a report with findings that smoking rates drastically declined in 2015, as well as stats that say women are smoking less than men are these days. Because women rule and boys drool, basically.
16.7% of American men are still smoking, while 13.6% of women reported smoking habits in 2015, the New York Times reports. 16.8% of adults 18 and over were smoking cigarettes in 2014, and that number decreased to 15.1% this year.
But while adult women are cutting back, their teen counterparts might be in more trouble. E-cigarette sales are going up among teens, which is freaky. Because although vaping might be safer than smoking tobacco, the jury is still out on whether they’re as harmless as they’re marketed to be.
A study from 2014 showed that although the level of aerosol toxins released from e-cigs was lower than normal cigarettes, there still levels of toxic chemicals emitted while vaping, and there are also studies that say vaping is actually a gateway to smoking tobacco. The FDA is cracking down on e-cigarette regulations, so companies will have to report the addictive properties of nicotine regardless of what way you get your fix.
Fátima Ptacek, the teen actress who lends her voice to Dora the Explorer, was just suspended for vaping in school, so that may be evidence of the depressing differences between adult and teen smoking trends and habits. Like one sad Dora fan tweeted, I don’t think I like what she’s “exploring.” 😕
@mashable Dora, I don’t think that I like what you’re exploring. 😕
— The Britt (@NDSienna) April 12, 2016
