Kicking The Habit

SMOKERS IN THE U.S., HIT WITH EVERYTHING FROM emphysema to excise taxes, may finally be getting the message. Federal health officials reported last week that the number of Americans who still smoke tobacco has reached a record low and is falling faster than at any other time since the government began tracking it 37 years ago. In 1955, 42% of Americans smoked cigarettes. Today nonsmokers outnumber smokers nearly 3 to 1.

Why are Americans kicking the habit? Health risks and social pressures are important turnoffs, say researchers at the Centers for Disease Control. Forty- four states and the District of Columbia now restrict smoking in public places, and many non-smokers are no longer shy about telling friends and co- workers to snuff it. But the biggest factor may be sticker shock. A pack of < cigarettes went for 23 cents in 1955; the average price last year was $1.74.

Unfortunately, the health effects of the billions of butts already smoked will continue to be felt for some time. A separate study published in the British journal Lancet predicts that smoking-related disorders -- chiefly cancer, heart disease, stroke and chronic lung disease -- will kill 1 in 5 people living in the industrialized world. The situation is likely to grow even worse in developing countries like China and Indonesia, where about 70% of men smoke, as cigarette manufacturers make up for falling U.S. demand by seeking new markets overseas.