WASHINGTON — More Americans now say they smoke cannabis than cigarettes, according to Gallup’s latest survey of U.S. consumption habits, underscoring a major shift in the country’s relationship with marijuana, tobacco and other widely used substances.
Seventeen percent of U.S. adults say they smoke marijuana, tying the highest figure Gallup has recorded since it began asking the question in 2013. By comparison, 11% say they smoked cigarettes in the past week, matching the record low in Gallup’s long-running measurement of cigarette use.
Another 15% of adults say they consume marijuana edibles, the poll found. Nine percent report vaping nicotine, while 4% say they use nicotine pouches.
The figures do not mean cannabis use has replaced cigarette smoking in every sense. The questions use different time frames: Gallup asked respondents whether they smoke marijuana, while cigarette, vaping and nicotine-pouch questions asked about use in the past week. The results are self-reported and should be read as estimates of national behavior rather than exact counts.
Still, the 17% to 11% gap reflects a striking cultural and public-health shift. Marijuana smoking has more than doubled since 2013, when 7% of Americans said they smoked it. Cigarette use, meanwhile, has declined dramatically from the middle of the 20th century, when nearly half of U.S. adults reported smoking.
The Gallup survey was conducted July 1-19 among a random sample of 1,200 U.S. adults living in all 50 states and the District of Columbia. The poll’s margin of sampling error is plus or minus 4 percentage points.
What the Gallup poll found
Gallup’s 2026 Consumption Habits survey measured several forms of substance use, from marijuana smoking and edibles to tobacco cigarettes, vaping, nicotine pouches and alcohol.
| Reported behavior | Share of U.S. adults |
|---|---|
| Smoke marijuana | 17% |
| Consume marijuana edibles | 15% |
| Smoke cigarettes in past week | 11% |
| Vape nicotine in past week | 9% |
| Use nicotine pouches in past week | 4% |
| Drink alcohol | 54% |
The 17% who report smoking marijuana matches the record high Gallup first recorded in 2023. It is up from 7% in 2013, when Gallup began asking the current question.
Cigarette smoking has remained between 11% and 12% for the past five years. The current 11% matches the low point in Gallup’s tracking.
The contrast with earlier generations is substantial. In 1954, 45% of U.S. adults told Gallup they had smoked cigarettes during the previous week.
That decline followed decades of public-health campaigns, scientific evidence linking tobacco to cancer and cardiovascular disease, higher taxes, smoking restrictions, changes in advertising rules and a broader shift in public attitudes.
Cannabis has moved in the opposite direction.
Medical and recreational legalization has expanded across much of the country. Public acceptance has grown. Cannabis products have become more varied, including flower, edibles, oils, beverages, concentrates and vape products.
The result is a U.S. market in which marijuana is more visible, more accessible in many states and more culturally normalized than it was a generation ago.
A measure of reported behavior
The Gallup poll captures what people say about their behavior, but it has important limits.
The marijuana question asks whether people smoke marijuana. It does not specify a time period such as the past day, week or month.
The cigarette question asks whether respondents have smoked a cigarette in the past week. The vaping and nicotine-pouch questions also use a past-week time frame.
That means the categories are not perfectly comparable.
Someone who says they smoke marijuana may do so daily, occasionally or rarely. Someone who reports smoking a cigarette in the past week could be a daily smoker or someone who had a single cigarette.
The survey also does not reveal how much marijuana respondents use, whether they mix it with tobacco, whether they use cannabis for medical or recreational purposes, or whether edible users also smoke cannabis.
Gallup’s findings should therefore not be interpreted as proof that more Americans use cannabis daily than tobacco, or that cannabis has surpassed tobacco across every measure of consumption.
But the results do show that a larger share of adults now identifies as cannabis smokers than as recent cigarette smokers.
That is a meaningful change in how Americans report their habits.
Younger and middle-aged adults lead cannabis use
The highest reported marijuana smoking rates are among adults under 50.
Twenty-five percent of adults ages 30 to 49 say they smoke marijuana, Gallup found. Among adults ages 18 to 29, the share is 23%.
The rate falls among older groups. Ten percent of adults ages 50 to 64 report smoking marijuana, while adults 65 and older are less likely to do so.
The pattern suggests that cannabis use has become most common among millennials and younger Gen X adults, as well as many members of Generation Z.
Those groups came of age during a period of changing attitudes toward marijuana.
In 2012, Colorado and Washington became the first states to legalize recreational cannabis for adult use. Since then, dozens of states have created medical cannabis programs, recreational markets or both.
State legalization does not make marijuana legal at the federal level. Cannabis is still federally controlled, but the government enforcement policy and public discussion have changed.
The gap between state and federal law has created a complicated landscape. A product can be legal to purchase in one state, prohibited in another and illegal under federal law even where state law allows it.
For consumers, however, the practical effect has been increased visibility and access in many parts of the country.
Edibles rise alongside smoking
Gallup found that 15% of Americans consume marijuana edibles, up from 12% in 2024 and 14% in 2022.
Edibles are food and drink items like gummies, baked goods, drinks and other foodstuffs or beverages that have THC, the major psychoactive component of cannabis.
The rise in edible use matters because it broadens the definition of cannabis consumption beyond smoking.
Some users may prefer edibles to avoid inhaling smoke. Others may choose them because they are discreet, easier to use in certain settings or available through regulated dispensaries.
But edibles also carry their own risks.
Their effects can take longer to begin and can last longer than inhaled cannabis. That delay can lead some people to consume more than intended before they feel the initial dose.
Products should be stored securely, especially around children and pets, because edibles can resemble ordinary candy or food.
The Gallup survey does not show how much overlap exists between smoking and edible use. Some adults may use both, while others may use only one form.
It also does not determine whether the rise in edibles represents new cannabis users or a shift by existing users away from smoking.
Cigarettes continue their long decline
Cigarette smoking has been declining in the United States for decades.
The shift is one of the most significant public-health changes in modern American history.
Smoking was once common in homes, offices, restaurants, airplanes and television advertising. Tobacco companies marketed cigarettes aggressively, and smoking was often associated with glamour, masculinity, independence or social status.
That changed as medical evidence became overwhelming.
The U.S. surgeon general’s 1964 report linking cigarette smoking to lung cancer and other diseases marked a turning point. In later decades, policymakers introduced warning labels, advertising restrictions, higher taxes, smoke-free workplace rules and public-health campaigns.
The result was a generational decline in cigarette use.
Gallup’s 11% figure is far below the 45% reported in 1954.
But nicotine use has not disappeared.
Nine percent of adults say they vape nicotine, and 4% use nicotine pouches.
Those products have changed the nicotine market, especially among younger adults.
Vaping may expose users to fewer toxic chemicals than combustible cigarettes, but it is not risk-free. Nicotine is highly addictive, and health authorities have warned about the risks of vaping, particularly for adolescents and people who have never smoked.
The changing pattern is not simply a story of tobacco disappearing. It is a story of traditional cigarette smoking declining while new nicotine products and cannabis use gain prominence.
Alcohol use is also lower
Gallup’s wider consumption data show that alcohol use remains much more common than either cannabis or tobacco, but drinking is also declining.
Fifty-four percent of U.S. adults say they drink alcohol, matching the record low from 2025 and representing the lowest level in Gallup’s nearly 90 years of tracking the behavior.
The decline in drinking appears to be strongest among younger adults, who have shown growing interest in sober-curious lifestyles, low-alcohol drinks, nonalcoholic beer and alternatives such as cannabis beverages.
The three trends, lower cigarette use, lower alcohol use and higher reported cannabis use, suggest a broader change in U.S. consumption habits.
Americans may be moving away from some traditional substances while exploring alternatives that are perceived as less harmful, more socially acceptable or better aligned with wellness culture.
But public-health experts caution against assuming that a product is safe simply because it is newer, legal in some states or less harmful than cigarettes.
Cannabis can impair judgment, coordination and driving ability. Frequent or heavy use can be associated with problems for some people, including cannabis use disorder, mental-health effects and difficulties with attention or memory.
The health effects can vary based on age, frequency of use, potency, method of consumption and personal medical history.
Americans are divided on cannabis effects
Public opinion about marijuana’s impact is closely split.
Gallup found that 47% of Americans think marijuana has a positive effect on most people who use it, while 46% think it has a negative effect.
The 47% positive figure includes 9% who say marijuana has a “very positive” effect and 38% who say it has a “somewhat positive” effect.
The divide reflects the way cannabis has entered American life.
Some people view it as a useful medical product or a less harmful alternative to alcohol or tobacco. Others worry about impaired driving, addiction, youth access, workplace safety and the mental-health effects of frequent use.
The debate is also shaped by age, politics, religion, education and personal experience.
Gallup found that marijuana smoking is more common among people who are less religious, have lower levels of formal education and also report drinking alcohol.
Men are more likely than women to say they smoke marijuana, while women are more likely than men to report consuming cannabis edibles.
The polling data do not resolve those debates. But they show that cannabis has moved from the margins of American culture toward the mainstream.
Legalization changes the social context
The rise in reported marijuana use has occurred alongside rapid changes in state law.
As of 2026, many states have legalized cannabis for medical use, recreational use or both. That has created a multibillion-dollar legal industry involving growers, retailers, brands, testing labs, delivery services and ancillary businesses.
Legalization has also changed the way people talk about marijuana.
Past users may have been less inclined to tell pollsters about cannabis usage because of stigma or legal danger. With changing laws and attitudes, more folks may be comfortable reporting use.
That means part of the increase in survey results may reflect greater openness as well as changes in behavior.
Still, the rise from 7% in 2013 to 17% in 2026 is large enough to suggest a real shift in use and acceptance.
Federal cannabis legislation remains up in the air. Congress has explored reforms on banking, scheduling, criminal records and medical research, but has not passed comprehensive federal legalization.
That creates challenges for businesses and consumers, including limits on banking access, interstate commerce and research.
What the data means
The Gallup poll offers a snapshot of a country in transition.
Seventeen percent of adults say they smoke marijuana. Eleven percent say they smoked cigarettes in the past week. Fifteen percent say they use cannabis edibles.
The data do not establish a simple winner between cannabis and cigarettes. The products have different health effects, legal histories and patterns of use. The survey questions are not identical, and self-reported behavior has limits.
But the cultural direction is unmistakable.
Cigarettes, once a defining American habit, continue to fade. Cannabis, once heavily stigmatized and illegal in every state, is increasingly reported as part of ordinary adult life.
For policymakers, health professionals, parents and consumers, the next challenge is not merely to track that change.
It is to understand what it means, and to make sure changing habits are matched by clear information about safety, impairment, youth access and public health.