Smoking will kill you, according to a long-running series of federally sponsored advertisement campaigns. But how about smoking marijuana? Turns out, more people are doing that kind of smoking than any other kind.
A new federal study found that marijuana use in the United States has surpassed cigarette smoking, with researchers finding that nearly 44 million Americans used marijuana in 2025.
That compares to about 36 million cigarette smokers.
So, who's smoking all that pot? The study found marijuana use was highest among adults ages 18 to 25, while cigarette smoking was more common among older adults.
Despite the increase in marijuana use, and talk that Gen Z has turned up their nose at cocktail in favor of getting high, alcohol remained the most commonly used substance.
Nearly 130 million Americans reported consuming alcohol, according to the study.
But there's a caveat, a couple of them actually. First is related to regularity, because it turns out that pot smokers get after it way more often than drinkers. For the first time, more Americans now use marijuana on a daily or near-daily basis than alcohol or tobacco.
Approximately 21.4 million Americans age 12 or over used marijuana daily in 2025, according to newly released data from the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA).
In contrast, only 17.2 million Americans drank alcohol every day or most days, defined as 20 or more days in 30 days, the data from the federal National Survey on Drug Use and Health found.
And nicotine vaping is in a separate category from smoking cigarettes, and Gen Z is doing plenty of that.
Nicotine vaping saw 17.5 million daily users in 2025, per the SAMHSA study.
As USA Today reported, the national Survey on Drug Use and Health "doesn't point to why marijuana use surpassed cigarette use in 2025. However, the findings come as more states legalize medical and recreational marijuana."
