The number of cigarettes sold in the United States in 2005 fell to the lowest level in 55 years.

According to federal tobacco tax figures, cigarettes sales slid 4.2 per cent from 2004 levels in the largest one-year percentage decrease since 1999. 378 billion cigarettes were sold in the United States in 2005, the lowest number since 1951.
The drop continues an eight-year decline in cigarette smoking since the 1998 Master Settlement Agreement (MSA) between US states and the tobacco industry that settled state lawsuits over the costs of treating smoking-related illnesses, the National Association of Attorneys General (NAAG) said on Wednesday.
Overall, cigarette sales have plunged more than 21 percent since the agreement, which raised cigarette prices and severely restricted industry marketing practices, the organisation said. (pi)