Tobacco Use – 2008

Cigarette smoking is the single greatest cause of preventable illness and death in the United States, contributing to the death of more than 435,000 people each year. Smoking is a known cause of numerous cancers, heart disease, stroke, pregnancy complications, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, and many other diseases. Approximately 70 percent of all smokers report that they would like to quit and simple advice to quit from a physician can increase the likelihood that a smoker will quit. Moreover, there are a number of evidence-based pharmacological and behavioral interventions that have proven to be effective in smoking cessation. However, smoking or tobacco dependence is a chronic relapsing condition that often requires repeated interventions and multiple attempts to quit.

Nicotine-replacement therapies (NRT) such as the nicotine patch and nicotine gum, and other Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approved medications such as bupropion and varenicline, have been found to increase the rates of successful smoking cessation by a ratio of 1.5 to 3.1 in comparison to a placebo. There are few if any interventions that would have a bigger effect on the health of the veteran population than improving care for smoking cessation. Finally, research has demonstrated that smoking cessation counseling and treatment is highly cost-effective relative to many other routine preventive health practices, such as annual mammography and screening for hypertension.

Prevalence and Trends Data

State:	Smoke everyday	Smoke some days	Former smoker	Never smoked
Nationwide (States, DC, and Territories)	13.3	4.8	25.0	55.5
Nationwide (States and DC)	13.4	4.8	25.2	55.3
Alabama	17.2	4.8	21.9	55.9
Alaska	15.1	6.4	28.4	50.0
Arizona	10.7	5.1	27.4	56.6
Arkansas	16.9	5.3	26.3	51.3
California	8.8	5.1	23.2	62.7
Colorado	12.2	5.3	24.8	57.5
Connecticut	11.5	4.3	30.0	54.0
Delaware	13.3	4.4	28.5	53.6
District of Columbia	9.2	6.9	22.5	61.2
Florida	12.8	4.6	26.0	56.4
Georgia	14.5	5.0	21.3	59.1
Guam	21.1	6.2	19.4	53.2
Hawaii	11.7	3.6	25.4	59.1
Idaho	12.4	4.4	21.9	61.2
Illinois	15.0	6.2	23.3	55.2
Indiana	19.7	6.2	23.0	50.9
Iowa	14.1	4.6	24.6	56.5
Kansas	13.2	4.6	23.1	58.9
Kentucky	20.4	4.7	25.2	49.5
Louisiana	16.0	4.4	19.8	59.6
Maine	14.0	4.1	31.6	50.1
Maryland	10.5	4.3	24.2	60.8
Massachusetts	11.7	4.3	28.1	55.8
Michigan	14.9	5.4	25.4	54.0
Minnesota	12.0	5.4	27.0	55.3
Mississippi	17.1	5.5	22.2	55.0
Missouri	20.1	4.7	25.0	50.0
Montana	13.7	4.7	26.8	54.6
Nebraska	13.4	4.9	25.0	56.6
Nevada	16.4	5.7	25.1	52.6
New Hampshire	12.8	4.2	31.0	51.8
New Jersey	10.7	4.0	24.2	60.9
New Mexico	12.7	6.5	24.9	55.7
New York	11.7	5.0	25.3	57.8
North Carolina	15.4	5.4	24.8	54.2
North Dakota	13.2	4.8	25.4	56.4
Ohio	15.4	4.6	25.4	54.4
Oklahoma	18.5	6.2	24.6	50.5
Oregon	11.8	4.4	24.6	58.9
Pennsylvania	15.6	5.7	25.3	53.3
Puerto Rico	7.4	4.1	18.2	70.1
Rhode Island	13.4	3.9	28.1	54.4
South Carolina	14.3	5.6	25.2	54.7
South Dakota	11.9	5.5	26.0	56.3
Tennessee	18.0	5.1	21.8	55.0
Texas	11.7	6.7	21.5	59.9
Utah	6.8	2.4	16.1	74.5
Vermont	12.1	4.5	32.1	51.0
Virginia	12.3	4.0	24.0	59.5
Virgin Islands	4.0	2.3	11.5	82.0
Washington	11.6	4.0	26.7	57.5
West Virginia	21.4	5.0	25.3	48.0
Wisconsin	14.1	5.7	26.6	53.4
Wyoming	14.8	4.4	25.4	55.2

Cigarette manufacturers provide now tobacco available on the online cigarettes shop without paying "convenience" store prices. Cigarettes like other tobacco products do carry health effects with them. Most modern manufactured cigarettes are filtered and include tobacco.