U.S. Smoking Prevalence Varies Widely by State and Territory

Only Utah, Puerto Rico, and U.S. Virgin Islands have met Healthy People 2010 goal

FRIDAY, Nov. 5 (HealthDay News) -- Self-reported cigarette smoking prevalence in U.S. states and territories ranges from 6.4 percent in the U.S. Virgin Islands to 25.6 percent in Kentucky and West Virginia, while the prevalence of smokeless tobacco use ranges from 0.8 percent in the U.S. Virgin Islands to 9.1 percent in Wyoming, according to a report published Nov. 5 in the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report.

Annette K. McClave, of the CDC's Office on Smoking and Health in Atlanta, and colleagues analyzed data on 432,607 adults from the 2009 Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System, a nationwide survey of adults that included questions on smoking and smokeless tobacco use.

The survey found wide variation in smoking, from 6.4 percent in the U.S. Virgin Islands, 9.8 percent in Utah, 10.6 percent in Puerto Rico, and 12.9 percent in California, to 25.6 percent in Kentucky and West Virginia, and 25.5 percent in Oklahoma. Smokeless tobacco use ranged more narrowly from 0.8 percent in the U.S. Virgin Islands to 9.1 percent in Wyoming and 8.5 percent in West Virginia. In the 13 states with the highest smoking prevalence, seven also had the highest smokeless tobacco use. Only Utah, Puerto Rico, and the U.S. Virgin Islands have met the Healthy People 2010 target for adult cigarette smoking.

"Neither cigarette nor smokeless tobacco use has declined during the past few years in the United States, and with the possible exception of cigarette smoking in California, the Healthy People 2010 targets for adult cigarette smoking and adult smokeless tobacco use are unlikely to be reached by any additional states during 2010," the authors write.

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