Poll Says Americans Choose Pot Over Cigarettes

More Americans smoke marijuana than cigarettes, according to a new survey, marking a milestone in consumption habits in the United States.

Data, compiled as part of Gallup’s annual Consumption Survey and released last week, showed that just 11% of Americans self-identified as a cigarette smoker – a new low since pollsters first asked the question in the 1940s asked.

Conversely, around 16% of Americans identified as current cannabis smokers, according to Gallup.

For the first time, the pollster asked Americans if they currently use cannabis edibles, with 14% saying they did.

The results were foreshadowed over the previous decade, when dozens of states and cities ended cannabis prohibition and Americans en masse turned away from tobacco — often in favor of smokeless nicotine vapes, which may or may not be safer.

In 2019, Gallup’s “Consumption Poll” found that just 15% of Americans said they smoked cigarettes, then a new low, and significantly lower than the 45% of American adults who said they did in the 1940s . This poll showed that 12% of Americans reported smoking marijuana.

“Cigarette smoking is clearly on the decline and will most likely become even less common in the years to come. This reflects both public awareness of its negative effects and ongoing government efforts at all levels to limit its use. Smoking generally remains legal, but is banned in many public places, offices, transportation, and private places in the United States. Every packet of cigarettes carries draconian warnings about their harmful effects,” wrote Gallup’s Frank Newport in his analysis of the recent poll.

Cannabis has perhaps never been more accessible in the U.S., and pot smoking has never been so ubiquitous — despite ongoing federal prohibition.

“Despite its widespread consumption, the disadvantages of alcohol in the United States have been known for centuries. This awareness peaked over a hundred years ago when the 18th Amendment to the US Constitution – passed by Congress and ratified by 46 of the 48 states – banned the manufacture, transportation and sale of alcohol. While the resulting ban did indeed reduce alcohol consumption as intended, it had numerous other unforeseen negative consequences and was lifted approximately 13 years after it went into effect,” Newport wrote.

Gallup released results last year that found a new high of 68% of Americans saying marijuana should be legal.

But the country is divided as to the impact.

In the most recent “Consumption Survey,” 53% said marijuana had a positive effect on its users, while 45% said it had a negative effect.

But when it comes to marijuana’s effect on society, 49% say it’s positive, while 50% say it’s negative.

Gallup’s most recent poll found that alcohol is far more common than marijuana or cigarettes. About 45% said they had had an alcoholic drink in the last week, while 23% said they had one occasionally. A third were identified as total abstainers.

“The Future of Alcohol Use presents the most intriguing sociological case study of the three substances. Alcohol consumption has been remarkably constant over the past 80 years (the time Gallup has been measuring it). In fact, alcohol has been widely consumed in the US since the nation’s founding. Its use continues to be intertwined with many aspects of American culture, including social and—in some cases—religious rituals. Alcohol is also an important factor in the country’s economy. If the best predictor of future behavior is past behavior, then the best guess would be to predict no significant change in alcohol consumption in the future,” Newport wrote.