Health News
- Cdc Says State Spends Less Than 8% Of What It Should On Preventing Use Of Tobacco; Companies Spend 13 Times As Much
Kentucky spends only 7.6 percent of what it should spend on preventing the use of tobacco, the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention says in its latest annual report on the subject. The state spent $4.33 million on tobacco-control programs...
- U.s. Teens' Cigarette Use Drops To A New Low, But Use Of Alcohol Goes Up A Bit And More 12th Graders Are Smoking Marijuana
Teenagers' cigarette smoking dropped to a record low this year but alcohol use rose slightly after seven years of decline, according to a survey of 45,000 eighth-, 10th- and 12th- graders for the National Institute of Drug Abuse. The survey also found...
- Poll Finds Kentucky Has The Highest Smoking Rate In The Country; A Statewide Ban Would Reduce It, Advocates Say
Kentucky has the highest smoking rate in the country, with 29 percent of people surveyed by the Gallup-Healthways Well-Being Index answering "yes" to the question, "Do you smoke?" (United Press International photo by Alexis G. Glenn) Kentucky's number...
- Kentucky's Adult Smoking Rate Falls Below 25% For The First Time
For the first time since state smoking rates were measured, fewer than one in four Kentucky adults are smokers, according to a report by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The rate in 2010 was 24.8 percent, down from 28.7 percent...
- Heavy Smoking Less Common Than 40 Years Ago
The percentage of people who smoked 20 or more cigarettes a day decreased significantly from 1965 to 2007 in the United States, according to a study in the March 16 issue of the Journal of the American Medical Association. There was also a decline in...
Health News
U.S. smoking rate drops from 16.8% to 15.2% in one year; Ky. ranks No. 2 in most recent state data; county data are available
"The national smoking rate among adults has reached an all-time low since anti-smoking efforts began decades ago, according to a report this week from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention," reports Lauren P. Duncan of The Paducah Sun. "Health leaders aren't sure what that means for Kentucky, though, where tobacco use is much higher than most states."
Based on a continuing survey of Americans, the CDC said 15.2 percent of adults smoked in the first quarter of the year, down from 16.8 percent in the first three months of 2014, a sharp drop as smoking rates go.
"This is preliminary data for 2015 so we don't know for sure if it's going to stay the same once we get the other three parts of the year in place," said Thomas Carr, director of national policy for the American Lung Association. "But it's encouraging. It's a significant decrease."
Preliminary data don't break down smoking rates by states. Kentucky has ranked first or second in various surveys for many years. In 2013, the state's rate was 26.5 percent, putting Kentucky in second place behind West Virginia, where 27.3 percent smoked.
"Health leaders have attributed the national decline to a variety of factors, including aggressive anti-smoking campaigns and smoke-free laws," Duncan reports. "Carr said increased taxes, prices of tobacco products and increased funding for anti-tobacco programs have also figured into the decline. But he said statewide smoking bans are likely the greatest deterrent."
About a third of Kentuckians live in places with smoking bans. A bill to impose a statewide smoking ban passed the House for the first time last year but never moved in the Senate. County-by-county smoking rates are available at KentuckyHealthFacts.org. The data can be converted into a trend graph showing how smoking rates have changed, in up to six selected counties on each graph. (Click on image for larger version)
Based on a continuing survey of Americans, the CDC said 15.2 percent of adults smoked in the first quarter of the year, down from 16.8 percent in the first three months of 2014, a sharp drop as smoking rates go.
"This is preliminary data for 2015 so we don't know for sure if it's going to stay the same once we get the other three parts of the year in place," said Thomas Carr, director of national policy for the American Lung Association. "But it's encouraging. It's a significant decrease."
Preliminary data don't break down smoking rates by states. Kentucky has ranked first or second in various surveys for many years. In 2013, the state's rate was 26.5 percent, putting Kentucky in second place behind West Virginia, where 27.3 percent smoked.
"Health leaders have attributed the national decline to a variety of factors, including aggressive anti-smoking campaigns and smoke-free laws," Duncan reports. "Carr said increased taxes, prices of tobacco products and increased funding for anti-tobacco programs have also figured into the decline. But he said statewide smoking bans are likely the greatest deterrent."
About a third of Kentuckians live in places with smoking bans. A bill to impose a statewide smoking ban passed the House for the first time last year but never moved in the Senate. County-by-county smoking rates are available at KentuckyHealthFacts.org. The data can be converted into a trend graph showing how smoking rates have changed, in up to six selected counties on each graph. (Click on image for larger version)
- Cdc Says State Spends Less Than 8% Of What It Should On Preventing Use Of Tobacco; Companies Spend 13 Times As Much
Kentucky spends only 7.6 percent of what it should spend on preventing the use of tobacco, the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention says in its latest annual report on the subject. The state spent $4.33 million on tobacco-control programs...
- U.s. Teens' Cigarette Use Drops To A New Low, But Use Of Alcohol Goes Up A Bit And More 12th Graders Are Smoking Marijuana
Teenagers' cigarette smoking dropped to a record low this year but alcohol use rose slightly after seven years of decline, according to a survey of 45,000 eighth-, 10th- and 12th- graders for the National Institute of Drug Abuse. The survey also found...
- Poll Finds Kentucky Has The Highest Smoking Rate In The Country; A Statewide Ban Would Reduce It, Advocates Say
Kentucky has the highest smoking rate in the country, with 29 percent of people surveyed by the Gallup-Healthways Well-Being Index answering "yes" to the question, "Do you smoke?" (United Press International photo by Alexis G. Glenn) Kentucky's number...
- Kentucky's Adult Smoking Rate Falls Below 25% For The First Time
For the first time since state smoking rates were measured, fewer than one in four Kentucky adults are smokers, according to a report by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The rate in 2010 was 24.8 percent, down from 28.7 percent...
- Heavy Smoking Less Common Than 40 Years Ago
The percentage of people who smoked 20 or more cigarettes a day decreased significantly from 1965 to 2007 in the United States, according to a study in the March 16 issue of the Journal of the American Medical Association. There was also a decline in...