Second-hand Smoke Exposure in Workplace and Homes Varies Across States
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(HealthNewsDigest.com) – Despite progress in some areas, smoking rates among U.S. adults remained stalled in 2008, halting the nation’s progress in ending the tobacco epidemic, according to a CDC study.
The study, released in advance of the annual Great American Smokeout,
found that 46 million Americans (20.6 percent) were current cigarette
smokers in 2008, which is virtually unchanged since 2004 when 20.9
percent of adults reported being smokers. The study’s findings indicate
an alarming trend, because smoking is the leading preventable cause of
death, killing more than 443,000 people every year and costing the
nation $96 billion in health care costs annually.
This new data, based on the 2008 National Health Interview Survey, shows
little to no change over the past five years and hints that smoking
rates may be moving in the wrong direction.
“Today tobacco will kill more than 1,000 people, but we can reduce
smoking rates,” said CDC Director Thomas R. Frieden, M.D., M.P.H. “We
must protect people from second-hand smoke, increase the price of
tobacco, and support aggressive anti-tobacco campaigns that will reduce
smoking and save lives. If every State had smoking rates similar to
places which have implemented effective programs, there would be at
least 10 million fewer smokers in the US, and millions of heart attacks,
cancers, strokes, and deaths would be prevented in decades to come.”
According to the study, the people hardest hit by the tobacco epidemic
are those among vulnerable populations, including people with lower
levels of educational attainment. In 2008, 41.3 percent of persons with
a General Education Development certificate smoked cigarettes, compared
to 5.7 percent of persons with a graduate degree.
In another study in this week’s CDC Morbidity and Mortality Weekly
Report, the 2008 Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System reports that
current adult smoking prevalence varied substantially across 50 states,
the District of Columbia, and the three U.S. territories. Among states,
smoking prevalence was highest in West Virginia (26.6 percent), Indiana
(26.1 percent), and Kentucky (25.3 percent) and lowest in Utah (9.2
percent), California (14 percent), and New Jersey (14.8 percent).
In the same study, CDC also reported significant variation among 11
states in the proportion of adults protected by smoke-free workplace
policies and the proportion of adults who protect themselves and their
families from secondhand smoke in their homes.
Among the 11 states which asked questions about exposure to second-hand
smoke, there was a large variation in indoor workplace exposure – from a
high of 16 percent in Mississippi to a low of 6 percent in Connecticut
and Tennessee. Second-hand smoke is known to cause cancer, heart
disease, and many other health problems, and smoke-free laws have many
benefits, including protecting non-smokers, reducing heart attacks in
non-smokers, and encouraging smokers to quit. Past experience shows
that smoke-free laws covering public places encourage people to adopt
smoke-free policies in their homes. In these states, home exposure
varied widely from 3 percent of adults exposed in their homes in Arizona
to 10.1 percent and 10.6 percent, respectively, in Mississippi and West
Virginia. This finding correlates with household policies about not
allowing smoking in households with a smoker present – for example, two
thirds of smokers in Arizona live in households where smoking is not
allowed in the home, compared to 41 percent and 36 percent in
Mississippi and West Virginia. Nationwide, 21 states and D.C. have
implemented comprehensive smoke-free laws covering workplaces,
restaurants, and bars, but more than half of the country still lives in
areas where they are not protected by comprehensive smoke-free laws.
“Despite states having received more than $200 billion in
tobacco-generated funds over the past 10 years, many
Americans-particularly those with low educational attainment levels, and
those who work in the hospitality, service, and other industries are
exposed to smoke in their workplaces, and they do not have equal access
to the support needed to help them quit,” said Matthew McKenna, M.D.,
M.P.H., director of CDC’s Office on Smoking and Health. “We need to make
the investments so all people receive the same protections and adequate
information to help them quit successfully.”
In an MMWR report last week, CDC noted that smoking rates among
low-income adults enrolled in Medicaid programs are much higher than the
general population (33 percent vs. 19 percent), and that only 6 Medicaid
programs provided full access to all proven means to help smokers quit.
Because access to tobacco cessation treatments (FDA-approved medications
and counseling) has been shown to help smokers quit, providing coverage
to all smokers, including the Medicaid population, would help reduce
smoking rates.
The American Cancer Society’s annual Great American Smokeout, slated for
Nov. 19, 2009, encourages smokers to quit smoking. People who smoke can
call 1-800-QUIT-NOW (1-800-784-8669) or visit www.smokefree.gov for
quitting assistance. For more information on CDC’s tobacco control
programs, visit www.cdc.gov/tobacco.
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