Smoking rate now No. 2 in the country
Jump to full article: Indianapolis (IN) Star, 2009-11-13
Author: Shari Rudavsky
Intro: Watch your back, West Virginia. Indiana is now No. 2 -- and gaining -- when it comes to smoking.
More than 26 percent of all Hoosier adults smoked in 2008, according to a report released Thursday by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
Indiana was sixth the previous year, but it has puffed past the national median of 20.6 percent -- not exactly something to celebrate.
"It saddens me tremendously," said state Rep. Charlie Brown, D-Gary, who sponsored legislation last spring for a comprehensive smoke-free workplace law. "I knew we were up there, but I didn't know we had inched our way up to No. 2. We need to turn that around."
Indiana has ranked in the top 10 in recent years for smoking prevalence. The difference between sixth and second is not statistically significant, and the top 10 clump closely together, said Karla Sneegas, executive director of Indiana Tobacco Prevention and Cessation. . . .
Experts recommend three measures to address a high rate of smokers: Passing a statewide, comprehensive smoke-free law, increasing state taxes and increasing the amount of money for tobacco prevention efforts.
"It's a trifecta," said Danny McGoldrick, vice president for research at the Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids. "When you put those three things together, that's when you have the biggest impact."
Many of the states that have the lowest smoking rates -- California, Arizona and New Jersey -- are those that have been the most aggressive about indoor smoking laws and about state taxes that drive up the cost of cigarettes, said Dr. Thomas Frieden, the CDC's director.
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