An alarming new study from the Roswell Park Cancer Institute sheds light on just how bad the cigarette problem still is among adults and the youth in the United States. The study found that more than one in four adults and nearly one in 10 youth use tobacco based on the Population Assessment of Tobacco and Health study.

The PATH study was established in 2011 via a collaboration between the U.S. Food and Drug Administration’s Center for Tobacco Products and the National Institutes of Health’s National Institute on Drug Abuse. The study shows that despite everyone’s knowledge of the dangers of tobacco, smoking continues to be a persistent problem in the country that millions continue to be unable to avoid, according to a statement from the organization.

The study found that a total of 27.6 percent of American adults used tobacco, and 8.9 percent of youth could say they smoke in the last 30 days. Many used a combination of cigarettes and e-cigarettes.

“Tobacco use continues to be an overwhelming economic and personal burden in this country. This research provides a unique and much-needed long-term approach to understanding tobacco use and the impact those behaviors have on individuals and on society as a whole,” says Andrew Hyland, PhD, Chair of the Department of Health Behavior at Roswell Park Cancer Institute and principal investigator of the PATH Study.

“These findings will serve as the baseline for comparison to future waves of PATH Study data in our effort to understand changes in use of tobacco products over time, including switching among types of products, quitting tobacco, and trajectories of use of multiple products,” says Karin Kasza, MA, Senior Research Specialist in the Department of Health Behavior at Roswell Park and lead author of the study published today.