Key Takeaways
- Marijuana smoking now exceeds cigarette smoking in the U.S., with 17% of adults reporting use compared to 11% for cigarettes.
- The increase in marijuana edibles consumption shows that consumers are shifting toward different methods of intake, with 15% consuming edibles in 2026.
- Age demographics reveal that adults aged 30-49 are most likely to smoke marijuana, while edibles appeal to a broader audience, including older consumers.
- Edibles are growing in popularity due to factors like avoiding inhalation and improved product quality, indicating a trend toward wellness consumption.
- Public opinion on marijuana’s health effects remains divided, which presents challenges for brands regarding messaging and transparency.
Most headlines covering the latest Gallup data stopped at the obvious comparison: more Americans now smoke marijuana than cigarettes. That is worth noting. Marijuana smoking has more than doubled since 2013, when Gallup first tracked the behavior at 7%. Cigarette smoking, meanwhile, has hit a record low of 11%, down from 45% in 1954.
But parking the conversation there misses the more telling development buried a few lines into the same report. Fifteen percent of U.S. adults now say they consume marijuana edibles, up from 12% in 2024 and 14% in 2022. That trajectory, gradual but consistent, tells you something important about where the cannabis consumer market is actually heading.
The cannabis consumer is not just smoking more. They’re consuming differently. And that matters a great deal if you’re looking to build products, stock shelves, or trying to understand where demand maybe going next.
Why Does Cannabis Now Outpace Cigarette Smoking in the U.S.?
Seventeen percent of U.S. adults report smoking marijuana, tying the record high set in 2023. Cigarette smoking sits at 11%, matching its record low. Vaping holds at 9%, and nicotine pouches like Zyn have now entered the picture at 4% in Gallup’s first measurement of that category.
The long decline of cigarette smoking highlights decades of public health messaging, product liability litigation, and cultural shift. Marijuana’s rise runs almost exactly counter to that arc. State-level legalization has expanded access significantly, and adult-use cannabis is now legal in 24 states. Greater access, reduced stigma, and a growing consumer wellness framework have all contributed to where those numbers now sit.
What Gallup’s data does not fully capture is why people are consuming. Research published in industry sources consistently points to relaxation as the primary driver, with wellness applications gaining ground. That context helps explain the edibles trend specifically, since that format tends to attract a different kind of consumer motivation than smoking does.
Which Age Groups Are Most Likely to Smoke Marijuana in 2026?
According to Gallup’s July 2026 data, marijuana smoking is most common among adults aged 30 to 49, at 25%. Adults aged 18 to 29 follow at 23%. The rate drops sharply among older Americans, falling to 10% for those aged 50 to 64 and just 5% among adults 65 and older.
Edible consumption follows a similar age pattern, though Gallup notes it is somewhat less pronounced across age groups. That moderation is worth paying attention to. It suggests edibles are not exclusively a young consumer format. Older adults, who may prefer to avoid inhalation for health or preference reasons, are part of the edibles audience too.
Gallup also found that marijuana consumption, across both smoking and edibles, is higher among adults who are less religious, less educated, and who also report drinking alcohol. Marijuana smokers tend to have lower household incomes than non-smokers. Edible consumers do not show that same income gap, which points to a somewhat different economic and lifestyle profile for that segment.
Why Are Cannabis Edibles Growing While Smoking Has Plateaued?
Marijuana smoking has essentially returned to its prior record high and held. Edibles, by contrast, have moved in only one direction. The jump from 12% in 2024 to 15% in 2026 is a meaningful gain in a short window.
Several factors explain why. First, edibles appeal to consumers who want the effects of cannabis without any inhalation. That includes people who are health-conscious, cannabis-curious first-timers, or existing users who want a cleaner experience. Second, product quality and variety in the edibles category have improved considerably. Gummies, chocolates, beverages, and capsules now offer precise dosing that early edible formats could not reliably deliver.
One demographic note from Gallup is worth flagging for product teams: women are slightly more likely than men to consume edibles, a pattern that does not appear among marijuana smokers. That gender skew is a real signal for how edible brands should think about packaging, positioning, and channel strategy.
The global cannabis-infused edibles market was valued at approximately $21.23 billion in 2026, according to Fortune Business Insights, with projections placing it at $52.23 billion by 2034. That represents a compound annual growth rate of nearly 12%. Persistence Market Research puts the 2026 figure closer to $14 billion with a trajectory to $33 billion by 2033. The specific estimates vary, but the directional conclusion from both sources is the same: this market is scaling.
What Does Growing Edibles Adoption Mean for Wellness and Retail?
The edibles trend intersects with the cannabis wellness conversation in ways that are increasingly hard to ignore. Consumers who gravitate toward edibles are often approaching cannabis as a functional category, something they use for sleep, stress, or discomfort rather than recreation alone. That framing pulls edibles closer to the supplement aisle than to the traditional dispensary shelf.
For retailers, that shift has direct implications for assortment planning. A consumer base that is splitting between smoking and edibles is not a monolithic market. It is two adjacent markets with different purchase motivations, different use occasions, and different price sensitivities. Stocking depth in both categories, rather than defaulting to flower, becomes a more defensible strategy as edibles adoption continues climbing.
For product developers, dosage precision is the central challenge. One of the long-standing criticisms of edibles has been inconsistent effects, partly a formulation problem and partly a consumer education problem. Brands that can deliver reliable, predictable dosing and communicate that clearly on packaging have a real point of differentiation in a crowded market.
The income profile of edibles consumers also matters here. Unlike marijuana smokers, edibles consumers do not skew toward lower household incomes. That suggests a segment with more discretionary spending available, which has implications for premium positioning, bundle pricing, and subscription models.
How Do Americans Actually Feel About Marijuana’s Health Effects?
Public opinion on marijuana’s effects is almost perfectly split, according to the same Gallup data. Forty-seven percent of U.S. adults say marijuana has a very or somewhat positive effect on most users. Forty-six percent say the effect is negative. That near-even divide has been consistent across multiple Gallup readings, with only slight swings in either direction.
The split is not surprising given where the public conversation sits. Supporters point to therapeutic applications, legalization momentum, and the harm reduction argument relative to alcohol. Critics raise concerns about dependence, mental health effects in younger users, and the lack of standardized clinical guidance.
For brands and content publishers in the cannabis space, that divide is a real constraint. Messaging that leans too far into unsubstantiated health claims risks both regulatory scrutiny and audience skepticism. The more durable approach is transparency about what the science currently supports and what it does not.
Cannabis consumption in the U.S. is not just growing. It’s changing shape. The brands and retailers that respond to that change at the category level, not just the SKU level, are the ones best positioned for what comes next.
Frequently Asked Questions
According to a Gallup poll conducted July 1–19, 2026, 17% of U.S. adults say they smoke marijuana. That figure ties the record high set in 2023 and is more than double the 7% Gallup recorded when it first tracked the question in 2013.
As of July 2026, marijuana smoking (17%) surpasses cigarette smoking (11%) among U.S. adults. Cigarette use is at a record low, continuing a long-term decline from a peak of 45% in 1954. Marijuana use, by contrast, has risen steadily alongside state-level legalization.
Marijuana edibles appeal to consumers who prefer to avoid inhalation, want more precise dosing, or are approaching cannabis from a wellness perspective. Gallup data shows edible use has climbed from 12% in 2024 to 15% in 2026. Improved product quality, wider variety, and greater retail availability have all contributed to that growth.
Adults aged 30 to 49 report the highest rate of marijuana smoking at 25%, followed by those aged 18 to 29 at 23%, according to Gallup’s 2026 data. Edible consumption follows a similar but somewhat less pronounced age pattern.
