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Action on Smoking and Health
A National Legal-Action Antismoking Organization Entirely Supported by Tax-Deductible Contributions
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Utah's Smoking Rate Among Adults Drops to Less Than 12% [09/16-1]
Excerpts from: Utah's smoking rate among adults drops to less than 12 percent
By [09/16/04]
With more adult Utahns deciding to quit, the state is the first in the country to meet a national goal of decreasing adult smoking to less than 12 percent, the state Department of Health announced Monday.
The benchmark was set by Department of Health and Human Services in Healthy People 2010, a health promotion and disease prevention program designed to serve as a road map for improving Americans' health.
Since 2000, Utah has seen the number of adult smokers drop by 15 percent, translating to 15,000 fewer adult smokers. That is the lowest adult smoking rate since the Utah Department of Health started tracking tobacco use rates in 1985.
The high school student smoking rate also has decreased from 11.9 percent in 1999 to 7.3 percent in 2003, meaning 5,000 fewer Utah teens are smoking.
Nationally, youth smoking rates also have declined, but Utah's 39 percent rate of decline exceeds the national average of 37 percent.
The state health department has launched anti-tobacco campaigns funded through the Tobacco Master Settlement and cigarette taxes.
Smoking rates have traditionally been low in Utah - headquarters of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, which discourages smoking.
Tobacco use is the leading preventable cause of death in the United States, killing more than 1,200 Utahns a year.
Utah incurs more than $587 million annually in smoking-related medical costs, and smoking-attributable Medicaid expenditures amount to $93 million.
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