The government said Friday that the proportion of female smokers in the United States dropped to below one in five for the first time in nearly 30 years and the overall rate of U.S. smokers continues to decline, although it's still far from a national goal.

Atlanta-based Centers for Disease Control says about 21.6 percent of adults smoked in 2003, the lowest rate in the last two years. Slightly more than 24 percent of men and 19 point two percent of women smoked in 2003.

In 2002, 22.5 percent of U.S. adults smoked, down from nearly 23 percent in 2001.

The CDC survey also found other changes in U.S. smoking behavior, including that 2003 had the lowest proportion of smokers age 18 to 24 (23.9 percent) since 1991.

Also, more people quit smoking in 2003 (46 million) than those who still smoked (45 million).

Despite the decline, the U.S. is still far from its 2010 goal of having only one in eight adults smoke, a rate of 12.5 percent.

The CDC says more programs are needed to reduce the ranks of U.S. smokers.