WASHINGTON, D.C. -- Only 1% of U.S. smokers say they smoke more than one pack of cigarettes per day, while 68% smoke less than a pack a day, each a record in Gallup trends dating to 1944. The percentage of one-pack-a-day smokers -- now at 31% -- has stayed relatively constant.

The findings are from Gallup's annual consumption poll, conducted July 9-12, 2012, which measures Americans' smoking behavior and attitudes. It is possible that the decline in reports of smoking is the result of respondents' awareness that smoking is socially undesirable. Therefore, respondents may aim to present themselves in the best possible light to the interviewer and underestimate the amount they truly smoke.

Still, the trend toward less smoking among smokers is clear. Prior to 1999, with one exception, less than half of U.S. smokers said they smoked less than one pack of cigarettes each day. The percentage smoking more than a pack a day peaked at 30% in 1978 but fell below 20% in 1987 and below 10% in 1999.

Even though, on average, U.S. smokers are lighting up less each day, more than two-thirds of smokers -- 68% -- still say they are addicted to cigarettes. The percentage of smokers who currently say they are addicted has fluctuated slightly from year to year; in 2007, nearly eight in 10 smokers said they were addicted to cigarettes.

Smokers Regret Ever Smoking and Most Want to Give It Up

The overwhelming majority of smokers still regret that they ever started to smoke. Nearly nine in 10 (88%) say if they could do it over again, they would not have started smoking -- up slightly from 83% in 1990, the first time Gallup asked this question.

While 88% of smokers say they wish they had never started smoking, fewer -- 78% -- say they would like to give it up. The percentage of smokers who want to quit has remained generally steady since 1997, but exceeds the 66% in the late 1970s and early 1980s who said they wanted to give up smoking.

Bottom Line

In the U.S., the percentage of heavy smokers has dropped significantly since the late 1970s, and has reached an all-time low this year. The record-low daily cigarette consumption level coincides with a U.S. smoking prevalence rate that is tied for the all-time low. That number could go still lower because most U.S. smokers say they would like to quit, an attitude that underscores how difficult it is for smokers to stop. These self-reports also suggest that attempts to give smokers rational information about smoking's harmful effects may not be highly effective, because most smokers already appear to be aware of the habit's down side and have a rational desire to quit.

Gallup's annual consumption survey and the Gallup-Healthways Well-Being Index survey will continue to monitor smoking patterns and attitudes in future years.