CDC: Smoking rates twice as high for adults who are uninsured, on Medicaid

American adults who are uninsured or on Medicaid smoke at rates more than double those for adults with private health insurance or Medicare, according to a new study by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. About 28% of uninsured adults and 29% of Medicaid recipients were current cigarette smokers when surveyed in 2014, compared with 13% of adults with private insurance or Medicare, the study found. The overall cigarette smoking rate for adults was about 17%, down from 18% in 2013 and 21% in 2005. The findings are from the National Health Interview Survey. “Smoking kills half a million Americans each year and costs more than $300 billion,” said CDC Director Tom Frieden, M.D. “This report shows real progress helping American smokers quit and that more progress is possible.”