You’re more likely to be a smoker if you live in one of these states

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Today we’re spotlighting a new report that identifies a dozen US states where smoking is a whopping 50% more prevalent than the rest of the country. Here are the numbers on what the report calls “Tobacco Nation” and why these states are different.

WHAT’S HAPPENING:

• Twelve states that stretch from the Gulf Coast up to the Great Lakes contain 21% of the US population but are home to 28% of American smokers, according to the anti-tobacco nonprofit Truth Initiative. The states are Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama, Tennessee, Arkansas, Oklahoma, Missouri, Kentucky, West Virginia, Ohio, Indiana and Michigan.
• Smoking rates in these states are higher among adults, young adults (under 25) and teens, according to the report. 19% of adults in the states smoke, compared to 13% in other states. For young adults, it’s 11% versus 8% in other states.
• They also smoke more: An average smoker in the 12 states goes through 53 packs of cigarettes in a year, while other Americans smoke 29 packs on average. That means your average “Tobacco Nation” smoker lights up about 500 more cigarettes each year, the report says.
• Nine of the 12 states have among the highest rates of e-cigarette use among adults. Earlier this year, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention warned that e-cigarettes are gaining in popularity, despite rates of cigarette smoking falling to an all-time low in the US last year.

WHY:

• The states in this block tend to have weaker anti-tobacco policies, often because of influence from the tobacco industry and a lack of political will among lawmakers, Truth Initiative says.
• Only three laws restricting the sale of flavored tobacco have been enacted in the 12 states, though hundreds of local governments across the US passed similar measures to stem the rising tide of vaping.

BIG PICTURE:

• Truth Initiative’s chief research officer says the health of these states’ residents is at stake and calls for “strong actions to close these geographic disparities.” The report says life expectancy in the 12 states is 76 years old – about three years lower than the rest of the country.
• In the US, nearly half a million people die prematurely each year from smoking or secondhand-smoke exposure, and millions more suffer serious illnesses from smoking, according to the CDC. Three years ago, the surgeon general laid out the benefits of quitting in the government’s first report on smoking cessation in 20 years.

WHAT DO YOU THINK? Ever been a smoker? Has the availability of cigarettes or vaping flavors where you live played a role in whether you or someone you know smokes?

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