Tobacco.org

• Smoking down 20 percent in Alaska 

Alaska’s air is less smoky than it was last decade with cigarette smoking down 20 percent from 1996 state levels.

Roughly 21 percent of Alaskans reported smoking in a new behavioral survey by the Alaska Department of Health and Social Services based on 2007 data. This number is about 27,000 people lower than 12 years ago. Fairbanks weighs in a hair above the state average with a 22 percent smoking rate, down from 26 percent a decade ago.

Smoking statewide declined most steeply among women and adults, and smoking by Alaska Native youths was chopped almost in half. Yet rates are still spiking in rural areas, among Alaska Native adults and among low-income non-Native adults. Progress varied depending on factors such as region, age, race and ethnicity and income level.

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