US News

Smokers know butts on the line

More than half of American smokers tried to quit the habit as the daily use of cigarettes fell, the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said yesterday.

About 19 percent of US adults, or 43.8 million, reported smoking daily or most days in 2011, little changed from 19.3 percent a year earlier.

About 52 percent of those surveyed reported trying to stop smoking in the preceding year.

About 443,000 US adults die each year from smoking-related diseases, according to the surgeon general.