After falling for 8 straight years, the adult smoking rate in the U.S. held steady between 2004 and 2005, the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) says.

The Washington Post reported Oct. 26 that the smoking rate remained at 20.9 percent of the adult population in 2005. Smoking rates also have leveled off among teens after years of declines.

The U.S. has about 45 million smokers.

State cutbacks on antismoking campaigns, more advertising by cigarette companies, and a slower rise in cigarette prices may be to blame for the statistical plateau, experts said.

The study, the 2005 National Health Interview Survey, appears in the Oct. 27, 2006 issue of the CDC's Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report.