Most people don't smoke

Smoking bans in public places have become increasingly more prevalent in recent years as a result of studies that have demonstrated the dangers of cigarette smoke, not just to smokers, but to bystanders.

Advocates for the rights of smokers have fought these bans on a constitutional basis, and restaurant and bar owners have protested to protect themselves from any economic harm that may arise from their customers being unable to smoke in their establishments.

During a recent discussion about the growing popularity of public smoking bans, I mentioned that I felt smoking bans were perfectly acceptable, even in bars, because smokers are a small segment of society, but everybody breathes and, more people drink than smoke. In effect, I was arguing that in a democracy it's typically what the most people want that becomes the way it is.

Data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and the Gallup Organization back up my presumption. In separate, unrelated studies, they found that most American adults consume alcohol and most don't smoke.

The CDC concluded in their 2004 annual survey that about 21% of American adults smoke cigarettes, a number that declined 40% between 1965 and 1990, but hasn't changed dramatically since then. More men (23.4%) than women (18.5%) are smokers.

Based on polling data, Gallup reports that 64% of American adults say they drink alcohol. This number has been relatively constant since they began polling people about their drinking habits back in 1939. The lowest percentage was reported in the 1950's when it hit 59%, which still qualified as "most Americans," and the highest in the 1970's when it reached 69%. Today's rate of 64% is just slightly higher than the 60-year average of 63%.

I also learned that rich people are significantly more lilkely to drink alcohol than those with lower incomes. About 82% of Americans who live in a household that earns more than $75,000 a year are drinkers, contrasted with only 44% of people in sub-$30,000 households.

-Scott Ritcher