Science

CDC stats show smoking increasingly banned in U.S. homes and workplaces

by William Atkins

Tuesday, 29 May 2007

A study by the U.S. Centers of Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has shown that in 2005 adult smoking—most commonly in cigarettes—in all fifty states, D.C., Puerto Rico, and the Virgin Islands, ranged from 8.3 to 28.7%. In addition, over the last ten years smoking in U.S. homes has decreased from 57 to 28%.

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The U.S. Virgin Islands reported the lowest percentage of smoking at home and in the workplace at 8.3%, followed by Utah (11.5%), Puerto Rico (13.1%), California (15.2%), and Connecticut (16.5%).

Kentucky reported the highest incidence of home-work smoking at 28.7%, followed by Indiana (27.3%) and Tennessee (26.8%).

In the home, Arizona has the highest percentage of smoke-free homes at 82.9%, while Kentucky has the lowest percentage at 63.9%.

In the workplace, West Virginia has the highest percentage of smoke-free environments at 85.8%, followed by Iowa (77.7%). Nevada has the lowest percentage of smoke-free work environments at 54.8%., followed by Arkansas (61.3%).

In the majority of states, men had a higher smoking percentage (with a range of 13.7 to 30.6% and a midpoint of 22.1%) than women (with a range of 9.3 to 26.9% and a midpoint of 19.2%).

Smoking is known to cause premature death and disease in all people—children and adults alike. According to a separate study by the CDC, smoking is the most preventable cause of premature death in the United States. It is reported that over 400,000 U.S. citizens (about 276,000 men and 142,000 women) die from cigarette smoking each year. One in every five deaths is smoking related.

The statistics on home and work related smoking came from the CDC article “State-Specific Prevalence of Current Cigarette Smoking Among Adults and Secondhand Smoke Rules and Policies in Homes and Workplaces—United States, 2005”. Appearing in the Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report. CDC scientists based their statistics on analyzed data taken from the 2005 Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System (BRFSS).

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