Recent Decline in U.S. Smoking Prevalence Stalls
Smoking Rates Vary Widely by Race, Ethnicity, Education
By News Staff
11/19/2009
The CDC said in the MMWR article that none of the states are funding tobacco control programs at levels the agency has recommended. CDC officials said funding at recommended levels is needed to continue and improve tobacco control programs, especially to reach populations that have disproportionately high rates of smoking.
Smoking rates varied widely by ethnic group and education level, according to data from the 2008 National Health Interview Survey. Adults with General Educational Development, or GED, certificates had the highest smoking rate, at 41.3 percent, compared with a rate of less than 6 percent among adults with graduate degrees.
The CDC said that evidence-based programs known to be effective at reducing smoking should be intensified among groups with lower education levels.
"Because persons with lower educational attainment generally have higher rates of smoking, are less likely to quit, and have less knowledge about the health effects of smoking but are interested in quitting, health care providers should take education level into account when communicating with such patients," the agency said.
Quit ratios among adults 25 and older were 39.9 percent for those with a GED and 45.7 percent for those with no high school diploma. That's compared with quit ratios of more than 60 percent for those with an undergraduate degree and more than 80 percent for those with a graduate degree. Quit ratios are the ratio of former smokers to ever smokers for each survey year.
Great American Smokeout Offers Resources to Help Smokers Quit
The event's Web site contains tips and tools to help, including downloadable stickers, posters and fact sheets.
According to the American Cancer Society, tobacco use remains the single-largest preventable cause of disease and premature death in the nation. Cigarette smoking accounts for about 443,000 premature deaths, including 49,400 in nonsmokers, annually. Thirty percent of cancer deaths can be attributed to tobacco, the organization said.
Men (23.1 percent) were more likely to smoke than women (18.3 percent).
Previous studies have shown that prevalence of tobacco use also varies by state.
The CDC estimates 46 million American adults are smokers. The agency said offering effective cessation counseling and treatments are integral to reducing smoking, especially in populations with high rates of smoking.
The AAFP's tobacco cessation program, Ask and Act, encourages members to ask their patients about tobacco use and to then act to help them quit. Through the Ask and Act program, AAFP members have access to a variety of resources to help patients quit using tobacco, including
- quitline cards,
- patient education materials,
- practice materials,
- CME and
- information regarding payment for tobacco cessation counseling.
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More From AAFP
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