The Government has been trying to pull down the number of smokers across US, but the efforts and hopes were all dashed by a recent report which revealed that not only has there been no fall in the number of smokers, for the first time in nearly 15 years, the number rose by a slight 1%.

The 2008 survey, which was carried out by the U. S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, recorded that almost 21% of the American adults admitted to smoking, a slight rise from last year's survey of this nature which recorded a figure of 19.8% adult smokers. The 2008 figure has been the first time an increase in the number has been recorded since 1994.

Although the rise was very small and might just be a temporary change in trends, health official are not happy. "Clearly, we've hit a wall in reducing adult smoking", said Vince Willmore, spokesman for the Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids, which is a Washington based research and advocacy organization.

In light of the new rise recorded, the authorities are now looking to push drives to help people quit smoking by educating them better about its ill-effects even harder and more fiercely.