Marijuana use is outpacing cigarette use for the first time on record

Marijuana plants at Hepworth Farms in Milton, N.Y. Sixteen percent of Americans say they smoke marijuana, with 48% saying they have tried it at some point in their lives. (Mary Altaffer/AP)

More people in the U.S. are now smoking marijuana than cigarettes, according to a Gallup poll.

Cigarette use has been trending downward during the past decades, with only 11% of Americans saying they smoke them in a poll conducted July 5 to 26, compared to 45% in the mid-1950s.