Marijuana Has Way Taken Over Cigarettes — new data shows weed now dominates America’s smoke culture
For the first time in recent memory, marijuana has way taken over cigarettes in the United States. This is a shift with cultural, commercial and public-health consequences. And yes, it covers “this doesn’t count because I only have a cig when out drinks with certain friends.” A new analysis of national survey data shows “cannabis-only” past-month use rose sharply between 2015 and 2023 while cigarette-only use declined, leaving more Americans who report using marijuana than those who say they smoke cigarettes.
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Why the swap? Several forces converged. Legalization and normalization have removed stigma for many adults, especially younger and middle-aged cohorts, and product innovation (vapes, edibles, concentrates) has made cannabis easier to use discreetly. At the same time, decades of public-health work — taxes, smoke-free laws, advertising restrictions and education campaigns — have steadily pushed cigarette smoking down from its 20th-century highs. The World Health Organization and recent U.S. studies document that tobacco use continues a long-term decline even as absolute numbers remain large.
But don’t read this as cigarettes being dead. The tobacco industry remains rich and politically powerful. U.S. economic data show tobacco sales, production and related revenues continue to generate billions annually — and the industry still lobbies, litigates and markets aggressively around the world. That money buys influence in policy debates even as overall smoking prevalence falls. Public-health advocates warn industry resources make ending tobacco harms a slower, ongoing battle.
Is marijuana really “healthier” than cigarettes? Short answer: in some respects, yes — but it’s complicated. Decades of evidence tie combustible tobacco to lung cancer, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) and clear excess mortality; those links are far stronger and better quantified than most evidence for cannabis. Major reviews (including the National Academies’ 2017 report and more recent reviews) find mixed evidence: cannabis carries respiratory and mental-health risks, and heavy use can lead to cannabis use disorder, but population-level cancer and long-term mortality links are not as clear as they are for cigarettes. In other words: marijuana may be less deadly for some outcomes, but it is not risk-free.
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For Millennials and Gen-Z readers, the headline is a cultural one: weed has entered the mainstream in a way cigarettes haven’t in decades. For clinicians and lawmakers, the headline is a caution: shifting use patterns bring new questions about addiction, impaired driving and long-term health that require smarter surveillance — and a public conversation that’s honest about both benefits and harms.
