"It is quite possible that there will be no smokers left in Britain or many other developed countries in about 30 to 50 years," Citigroup analysts predicted Friday, in a report that sent tobacco company stocks tumbling. Smoking sales peaked in Britain in 1974, and in 1981 in the U.S., and they "appear to be falling in a series of straight lines" since then, Citigroup says. About 20 percent of Americans and Britons still smoke. Could that figure really drop to zero within a few decades? (Watch a report about Citigroup's analysis)
The trends are pretty clear: More than half of Britain smoked in the 1960s, so today's 21 percent is a pretty sharp drop, says Rachel Cooper in The Daily Telegraph. The understanding that cigarettes are deadly started the decline, and a series of recent smoking bans and other regulations are speeding it up. When they consider their "long-term" prospects, cigarette makers have to be quaking.
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