If you want to know how many smokers want to quit, the answer is: most of them. In the United States, 67.7% of adults who smoked said in 2022 that they wanted to quit, and 53.3% had tried in the past year. The harder number is how many succeed, and that one is far smaller.
This guide sets out the intention, attempt and success figures side by side, with the survey, year and definition beside each number. It also shows the gap between wanting to quit and quitting, and how few people use the counseling and medication that CDC counts as proven help.
Key Findings: Want, Try, Succeed
- Want to quit (US, 2022): 67.7% of adults who smoked said they wanted to quit (CDC).
- Tried in the past year (US, 2022): 53.3% (CDC).
- Succeeded in the past year (US, 2022): 8.8%, which is less than 1 in 10 (CDC).
- Used counseling or medication when trying (US, 2022): 38.3% (CDC).
- Great Britain (2024): 56.2% of current smokers intended to quit, and 24.4% intended to within three months (ONS).
- Australia (2022 to 2023): about one-third (32.8%) of people who smoke had no plans to quit, and 30.2% planned to within three months (Tobacco in Australia).
These come from different surveys with different wording, so use them to compare the shape of the picture, not to rank countries.
How Many Smokers Want to Quit
The CDC Smoking Cessation: Fast Facts page (the version dated September 17, 2024) states that most adults who smoke cigarettes want to quit: in 2022, 67.7% said they wanted to. It adds that since 2002 there have been more people who used to smoke than people who currently smoke.
The picture is similar abroad, though the question differs. In Great Britain, the ONS adult smoking habits bulletin for 2024 reports that of the people who currently smoked in 2024, 56.2% intended to quit, and almost a quarter (24.4%) intended to quit within the next three months. The 2020 International Tobacco Control Four Country Smoking and Vaping Survey, which covers the US, Canada, England and Australia, found that 70.6% of people who regularly smoked preferred to quit rather than continue smoking, as summarized by Tobacco in Australia.
In Australia, Tobacco in Australia reports that in 2022 to 2023 only about one-third of people who smoke had no plans to give up (32.8%), with 31.6% planning to quit but not within three months and 30.2% planning to quit within three months.
Put simply, wanting to quit is the majority position wherever it is measured. The harder question is what happens next.
How Many Tried to Quit Last Year
According to CDC, 53.3% of US adults who smoked said they had tried to quit in the past year in 2022. The earlier 2019 CDC MMWR report on 2018 data found 55.1% had made a quit attempt in 2018, up from 52.8% in 2009. So roughly half of smokers try each year, and that has been true for more than a decade.
Other countries measure attempts differently. The Canadian Tobacco and Nicotine Survey 2022 summary found that 31.4% of Canadians aged 15 and older who reported daily smoking made at least one quit attempt lasting 24 hours in the past year. In Australia, about three-quarters (76%) of current smokers reported they had tried to change their smoking behavior in the past year in 2022 to 2023: 29% had tried to quit without success, 20% had given up for more than a month and 40% had reduced the amount smoked per day. These are not the same measure as the US figure, which is why they look so different.
If you have tried and gone back, you are in the majority. Our analysis of how many quit attempts it takes looks at how many tries people typically need.
How Many Actually Succeeded
CDC reports that in 2022, 8.8% of adults who smoked were able to successfully quit smoking in the past year, which it describes as less than 1 in 10. The 2019 MMWR report found recent successful cessation of 7.5% in 2018, up from 6.3% in 2009. The slow rise matters: even a small increase in the success rate, as Tobacco in Australia points out, can have a large effect on prevalence over time.
A different way to count is to look at everyone who has ever smoked. CDC reports that in 2021, 66.5% of US adults who ever smoked cigarettes had quit, and the 2018 report gave the quit ratio as 61.7%, up from 51.7% in 2009. In Great Britain, ONS reports that the percentage of people who said they had previously smoked and had now quit rose to 74.2% in 2024, from 70.9% in 2023. In Canada, 4.2% of former smokers had quit less than a year before the 2022 survey.
Those two kinds of number do not conflict. Lots of people do quit for good, but each year only a small slice of current smokers manage it. Our guide to how many ex-smokers there are covers the long-run total, and quit smoking success rates by method compares approaches.
How Many Use Proven Help
CDC defines proven treatments as counseling or medication approved by the FDA. In 2022, among adults who smoked and tried to quit in the last year or successfully quit in the last two years, 38.3% used counseling or medication. Just 7.3% used counseling, 36.3% used medication, and 5.3% used both. That is fewer than 4 in 10.
The gap is not only about individual choice. Among adults who smoked and saw a health professional during the past year, 50.5% reported receiving advice to quit and 49.2% reported receiving assistance to quit, meaning advice about ways to quit or a prescription for a quit-smoking medicine. CDC adds that even brief advice of less than three minutes from a health professional improves the chance of quitting successfully.
This short video from the public health organization Truth Initiative explains how to choose a quitting medication.
If you are weighing these options, our research summary on relapse after quitting explains why support in the first weeks matters so much.
The Intention-Success Gap
| Step | Share | Who is counted |
|---|---|---|
| Want to quit | 67.7% | Adults who smoked, 2022 |
| Tried to quit in past year | 53.3% | Adults who smoked, 2022 |
| Succeeded in past year | 8.8% | Adults who smoked, 2022 |
| Used counseling or medication | 38.3% | Among those who tried or recently quit, 2022 |
| Received advice from a health professional | 50.5% | Among those who saw a professional, 2022 |
Read the table from top to bottom and the shape is clear: intention is high, attempts are common, and success is rare. The denominators differ by row, so do not divide one row by another. What the figures do show is that the main bottleneck is not motivation, because roughly two in three already want to stop.
CDC’s own summary puts it this way: it often takes multiple tries to quit successfully, but there are helpful treatments and resources for quitting. If you want to understand why the same person can want to quit and still struggle, our overview of how quit smoking apps work and what the science says is a good next read.
How the US, UK, Canada and Australia Compare
The table below lines up the headline quit-related figure from each source. Treat it as a map of what each country measures, not a league table.
| Country and year | Measure | Figure |
|---|---|---|
| United States, 2022 | Adults who smoked and said they wanted to quit | 67.7% |
| Great Britain, 2024 | Current smokers who intended to quit | 56.2% |
| Great Britain, 2024 | Current smokers who intended to quit within three months | 24.4% |
| Canada, 2022 | Daily smokers (15+) with a 24-hour quit attempt in the past year | 31.4% |
| Australia, 2022 to 2023 | People who smoke with no plans to quit | 32.8% |
| Australia, 2022 to 2023 | People who smoke planning to quit within three months | 30.2% |
For a wider view of how people move from smoking to quitting, see our smoking cessation statistics for 2026 and, for the smoker count itself, what percentage of Americans smoke.
Methodology: What These Numbers Do and Do Not Say
- US figures: from the CDC fast facts page (2022 data for the cessation behaviors and 2021 data for the quit ratio) and the 2019 MMWR report on 2018 data.
- Who is in the denominator: the 8.8% success figure is reported by CDC as a share of adults who smoked. The proven help figure is among people who tried to quit or recently quit.
- Wanting is self-reported: intentions are not behavior, and the wording differs by survey (wanted, intended, preferred, planned).
- Other countries: Great Britain’s figures cover people aged 16 and over, Canada’s 15 and over, and the Australian figures come from the National Drug Strategy Household Survey as summarized by Tobacco in Australia.
Every number above is linked to the page where we read it.
Closing the Gap With Daily Support
The data points to a practical plan: pair your own motivation with support that is known to help. That can mean talking to a clinician or pharmacist about counseling and quit-smoking medicine, calling a quitline, and using everyday tools for the cravings in between.
The iQuit app is free on Google Play and the App Store and is designed to be the daily companion. It tracks days smoke-free, cigarettes avoided and money saved, logs cravings and their triggers, and offers SOS tools such as breathing exercises and craving surfing, plus quitline access and an AI coach. It supports several quit methods, including cold turkey and gradual reduction. iQuit is not a medication or a clinical treatment, so talk to a health professional about counseling or medicine as well.
Frequently Asked Questions
What percentage of smokers want to quit?
In the US, 67.7% of adults who smoked said in 2022 that they wanted to quit. In Great Britain, 56.2% of current smokers intended to quit in 2024, and across four countries a 2020 survey found 70.6% preferred to quit (CDC; ONS; Tobacco in Australia).
How many smokers try to quit each year?
About half. CDC reports that 53.3% of US adults who smoked said they had tried to quit in the past year in 2022, compared with 55.1% in 2018 and 52.8% in 2009 (CDC; CDC MMWR 2019).
How many smokers succeed in quitting each year?
Fewer than 1 in 10. CDC reports 8.8% of US adults who smoked were able to successfully quit in the past year in 2022. The 2018 figure was 7.5%, up from 6.3% in 2009 (CDC; CDC MMWR 2019).
How many smokers use proven quit treatments?
Fewer than 4 in 10. CDC reports 38.3% of US adults who tried to quit in the last year, or quit in the last two years, used counseling or medication in 2022. Only 5.3% used both (CDC).
Why do so many smokers fail to quit if they want to?
CDC says tobacco dependence is driven by nicotine addiction and often takes multiple tries. It also reports that only about half of adults who smoked and saw a health professional received advice or assistance to quit (CDC, 2022 data).
What share of people who ever smoked have quit?
CDC reports that 66.5% of US adults who ever smoked cigarettes had quit in 2021. In Great Britain, ONS reports 74.2% of people who previously smoked had now quit in 2024 (CDC; ONS).
How many British smokers plan to quit soon?
The ONS Opinions and Lifestyle Survey found 24.4% of current smokers in Great Britain intended to quit within the next three months in 2024, and 56.2% intended to quit at some point (ONS, 2024).
Does brief advice from a doctor help smokers quit?
Yes. CDC states that even brief advice of less than three minutes from a health professional improves the chance of quitting successfully and is highly cost-effective. In 2022, 50.5% of adults who smoked and saw a professional reported receiving advice (CDC).
Add Daily Support to Your Quit Plan
iQuit is free on Google Play and the App Store. Track your smoke-free days, log cravings and get SOS support, and talk to a health professional about counseling or medicine too.
Download iQuit Free on Google Play Download on the App Store
