Health

Smoking rate continues to decline

NEWS IN BRIEF — Posted June 27, 2005

Print  |   Email  |   Respond  |   Reprints  |   Like Facebook  |   Share Twitter  |   Tweet Linkedin

The number of people who smoke cigarettes has continued to go down. It is not, however, going down fast enough to reach Healthy People 2010 goals, and the decrease is not uniform in all ethnic and racial groups, according to the May 27 Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report.

According to data gathered from the National Health Interview Survey, 21.6% of adults were smokers in 2003, a decrease from the 22.5% in 2002 but still a long way from the Healthy People 2010 goal of 12%. Smoking by women dipped below 20% for the first time to 19.2%. Smoking among those ages 18 to 24 dipped to 23.9%, the lowest rate since 1991.

The survey also found that smoking rates are significantly higher among American Indians and Alaska Natives, those living at the poverty level, and those with lower levels of education.

This data has also been corroborated by other, more localized studies. For example, a paper in the June American Journal of Public Health, comparing Chicago neighborhoods, found smoking rates in poor, African-American neighborhoods double that of wealthier Caucasian areas.

"We hope that public health policy-makers and foundations will use this new data as a stimulus for effectively targeting communities and individuals who most need help to stop smoking," said Steven Whitman, PhD, one of the authors and director of the Sinai Urban Health Institute.

Note: This item originally appeared at http://www.ama-assn.org/amednews/2005/06/27/hlbf0627.htm.

Back to top


ADVERTISEMENT

ADVERTISE HERE


Featured
Read story

Confronting bias against obese patients

Medical educators are starting to raise awareness about how weight-related stigma can impair patient-physician communication and the treatment of obesity. Read story


Read story

Goodbye

American Medical News is ceasing publication after 55 years of serving physicians by keeping them informed of their rapidly changing profession. Read story


Read story

Policing medical practice employees after work

Doctors can try to regulate staff actions outside the office, but they must watch what they try to stamp out and how they do it. Read story


Read story

Diabetes prevention: Set on a course for lifestyle change

The YMCA's evidence-based program is helping prediabetic patients eat right, get active and lose weight. Read story


Read story

Medicaid's muddled preventive care picture

The health system reform law promises no-cost coverage of a lengthy list of screenings and other prevention services, but some beneficiaries still might miss out. Read story


Read story

How to get tax breaks for your medical practice

Federal, state and local governments offer doctors incentives because practices are recognized as economic engines. But physicians must know how and where to find them. Read story


Read story

Advance pay ACOs: A down payment on Medicare's future

Accountable care organizations that pay doctors up-front bring practice improvements, but it's unclear yet if program actuaries will see a return on investment. Read story


Read story

Physician liability: Your team, your legal risk

When health care team members drop the ball, it's often doctors who end up in court. How can physicians improve such care and avoid risks? Read story

  • Stay informed
  • Twitter
  • Facebook
  • RSS
  • LinkedIn