A new federal report shows the adult smoking rate in the U.S. has been virtually unchanged since 2004. California has fared much better than the national average.
The Centers for Disease Control says 20.6 percent of American adults smoke. The adult smoking rate in California is only 14 percent. That's the second lowest percentage of any state in the country.
Paul Knepprath is with the American Lung Association. He says California needs to raise the tobacco tax if it wants to continue making progress.
"We haven't raised a cigarette tax in more than 10 years," Knepprath says. "At the same time, 44 other states have raised their tax more than 90 different times."
The federal tobacco tax has gone up, but California's tax stands at 87 cents a pack. Knepprath says higher tobacco taxes reduce smoking, especially among teens.
