Over the past five-plus decades, we've seen a pretty dramatic shift in how Americans view, and use, tobacco products. In the mid-1960s, roughly 42% of American adults were cigarette smokers. But as of 2017, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) reports that cigarette smoking rates have declined to a record low of 14% among adults (about 34 million U.S. adults).
There are a number of factors that have played into this decline, including improved health awareness surrounding the long-term dangers of smoking tobacco, improved access to preventative and medical care, as well as growing access to smoking-cessation tools.
But as traditional cigarette sales volumes have floundered, Big Tobacco has looked to pick up the slack with alternative products. Perhaps none is more popular than vaping.