Americans Ditch Cigarettes for Pipes, Cigars

Smoking less these days? You're not alone: US cigarette consumption has dropped nearly 33% over the past dozen years, according to a CDC report. But Americans are making up for it by puffing on far more cigars and pipes. In fact, large-cigar consumption jumped more than 300%. And pipe tobacco sales skyrocketed by over 600% from 2008 to 2011, when tax changes made pipe tobacco cheaper than roll-your-own, ABC News reports.

An interesting tidbit: Consumption of small cigars has also dropped, but only because manufacturers have increased their size to make them classified as large cigars that are taxed at a lower rate, the New York Times reports. Overall, Americans are smoking about what they used to. "When we take into account these alternative cigarette-like products, we’re seeing a lack of change in the overall consumption of burned tobacco that is being inhaled,” says a CDC official. (More cigarettes stories.)