WASHINGTON — Americans are increasingly turning away from traditional cigarettes and alcohol while marijuana, vaping and newer nicotine products occupy a larger place in the nation’s assortment of habits and vices, according to a new Gallup survey.
Seventeen percent of American adults now report smoking marijuana, tying the highest level Gallup has recorded since it began asking the question in 2013.
At the same time, only 11 percent said they had smoked a cigarette or e-cigarette during the previous week, matching the lowest percentage in Gallup’s lengthy history of tracking tobacco use.
Alcohol remains more widely consumed than marijuana or tobacco, but only 54 percent of adults now say they drink—holding at a nearly 90-year low.
The findings offer a revealing snapshot of what Americans are smoking, drinking, eating and consuming in 2026, as they juggle their addictions.
Marijuana overtakes cigarettes
Reported marijuana smoking has more than doubled since 2013, when just 7 percent of adults told Gallup they used the drug that way.
The latest 17 percent result matches the record set in 2023 and represents an increase from 14 percent in 2025.
Another 15 percent of adults said they consume marijuana edibles. That compares with 12 percent in 2024 and 14 percent in 2022.
The marijuana questions did not ask respondents whether they had used the substance within a particular number of days. The cigarette, vaping and nicotine-pouch questions specifically asked about use during the previous week, making direct comparisons useful but not perfectly equivalent.
Marijuana use varied substantially by age.
Among adults ages 30 to 49, 25 percent said they smoke marijuana. The figure was 23 percent among those ages 18 to 29.
Use dropped to 10 percent among adults ages 50 to 64 and just 5 percent among those 65 and older.
Gallup also found marijuana smoking and edible consumption were more prevalent among adults without college degrees, those who reported less religious involvement and those who also drank alcohol.
Marijuana smokers tended to report lower household incomes than non-smokers. That income difference did not appear among people who consumed edibles.
Public remains divided over marijuana
Despite marijuana’s growing use and expanding legal acceptance across much of the country, Americans remain almost evenly divided over whether the drug’s impact is beneficial or harmful.
Forty-seven percent said marijuana has a positive effect on most users, including 9 percent who called the effect very positive and 38 percent who described it as somewhat positive.
Another 46 percent viewed its effect negatively. That group included 30 percent who said somewhat negative and 16 percent who said very negative.
The remaining 7 percent did not offer an opinion.
The nationwide increase comes as Iowa continues to prohibit recreational marijuana. Iowa operates a limited Medical Cannabis Program for registered patients with qualifying conditions, but smokable marijuana flower is not permitted.
Cigarette use continues historic collapse
Cigarette smoking has undergone one of the most dramatic behavioral changes measured by Gallup.
When the organization first asked Americans about smoking in 1944, 41 percent said they smoked cigarettes. The figure climbed to 45 percent in 1954 before beginning a decades-long decline.
Smoking fell below 30 percent in 1989 and has remained below 20 percent since 2015.
For the past five years, reported cigarette use has remained between 11 and 12 percent.
Middle-aged Americans were the most likely to report smoking cigarettes. Sixteen percent of adults ages 30 to 49 said they had smoked during the previous week, compared with 11 percent of those ages 50 to 64.
Cigarette smoking remained more common among adults with lower incomes and those without college degrees.
Vaping holds steady
Nine percent of American adults said they had used an electronic cigarette or vaped during the previous week.
Gallup first measured vaping in 2019. Since then, usage has remained between 6 and 9 percent.
Vaping is especially concentrated among younger adults. Seventeen percent of those ages 18 to 29 said they had vaped, compared with only 1 percent of adults 65 and older.
Like cigarette smoking, vaping was more prevalent among people with lower household incomes and adults who did not hold a college degree.
Nicotine pouches enter the survey
Gallup measured nicotine-pouch use for the first time in 2026.
Four percent of adults said they had used a pouch product such as Zyn during the previous week.
Use was highest among adults ages 30 to 49 at 7 percent. Five percent of adults under 30 reported using the products, compared with 1 percent of those 65 and older.
The largest demographic difference appeared between men and women. Seven percent of men said they used nicotine pouches, while only 1 percent of women reported doing so.
Unlike cigarettes and vaping, nicotine-pouch use was more common among adults with higher household incomes.
Alcohol holds at historic low
Alcohol remains more widely used than marijuana, cigarettes, vaping or nicotine pouches, but the share of Americans who drink has declined sharply.
Fifty-four percent of adults said they consume alcoholic beverages.
The figure is unchanged from 2025, when NIT reported that American alcohol consumption had fallen to its lowest level since Gallup began tracking it in 1939.
At that time, 54 percent said they drank, down from 58 percent in 2024 and 62 percent in 2023.
The decline has coincided with growing concern about alcohol’s health effects. A majority of Americans now view even moderate drinking as harmful, marking a significant shift from earlier decades when moderate alcohol consumption was often portrayed as relatively harmless or potentially beneficial.
The drop also creates an interesting contrast between consumer behavior and the expanding availability of alcohol at major entertainment venues.
Even as fewer Americans say they drink, colleges and professional sports organizations are increasingly offering beer, wine and cocktails as additional sources of revenue.
Beginning with the 2026 football season, Iowa State plans to sell alcohol at Jack Trice Stadium and later at Hilton Coliseum as its athletic department confronts rising costs and financial pressure.
The university will offer beer, wine and prepackaged cocktails under restrictions that include identification checks, a two-drink limit per transaction and designated cutoff times.
A portion of the net proceeds is expected to support alcohol education, student wellness programs and public-safety improvements.
The contrast does not necessarily mean sporting venues are causing increased drinking. It does show, however, that alcohol is becoming more commercially available in some public settings even as a shrinking percentage of Americans chooses to consume it.
Coffee towers over other daily drinks
When Gallup expanded its snapshot to commonly consumed caffeinated beverages, coffee easily finished first.
Forty-nine percent of adults said they drink coffee at least once per day, including 16 percent who consume it multiple times daily.
Daily consumption of other beverages included:
- Tea: 21 percent
-
Caffeinated soda: 20 percent
-
Energy drinks: 9 percent
-
Caffeine-free soda: 6 percent
Coffee consumption increased sharply with age. Sixty-four percent of adults 65 and older drank coffee daily, compared with only 25 percent of adults under 30.
Energy drinks followed the opposite pattern. Fourteen percent of adults ages 30 to 49 and 11 percent of those under 30 consumed them daily, compared with 3 percent among each of the two older age groups.
Men were also more than twice as likely as women to report drinking energy drinks every day, 12 percent to 5 percent.
Poll offers a snapshot, not a head count
The results come from Gallup’s annual Consumption Habits poll, conducted July 1-19, 2026.
Gallup interviewed a random national sample of 1,200 adults living in all 50 states and the District of Columbia. Interviews were conducted by cellphone and landline, with Spanish-language interviews available.
The overall results carry a margin of sampling error of plus or minus four percentage points at the 95 percent confidence level.
Because the findings depend on people accurately describing their own behavior—and because several questions used different time frames—the results should be viewed as estimates of national habits rather than precise counts.
Even with those limitations, the long-term direction is unmistakable: cigarette and alcohol use have fallen substantially from their earlier dominance, while marijuana has moved from the margins toward the American mainstream.