Sales of cigarettes in the United States are continuing to decline, but that decline is being partially offset by increases in the sales of loose tobacco and cigars, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said.

Cigarette consumption fell 2.5 percent from 2010 to 2011, but the overall drop in tobacco consumption was only 0.8 percent because of an increase in the sale of other smokable tobacco products, the agency reported in its Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report.

At least part of the alteration in consumption patterns arose because of a 2009 increase in the federal tobacco excise tax on cigarettes that made loose tobacco and cigars cheaper than cigarettes. Regulations prohibiting the addition of menthol and other additives to cigarettes are also less stringent for non-cigarette products.

The U.S. Department of Agriculture stopped reporting cigarette sales in 2007. CDC decided to take over the task because of the impact on Americans’ health.

Smoking is the primary cause of lung cancer, as well as a major contributor to heart attacks, strokes and other diseases

Cigarette use and exposure to secondhand smoke kill an estimated 443,000 Americans each year, and for every death, an additional 20 live with a smoking-related disease. It is the only U.S. product that, if used according to the manufacturers’ directions, will kill half its consumers.