Smoking (%)
Smoking is the leading cause of preventable death in the United States and is the primary risk factor for lung cancer, the leading cause of cancer deaths among U.S. women.1 In the United States almost 80% of lung cancer deaths in women are due to smoking.2 Both men and women who smoke face increased risks for other diseases as well (e.g., other cancers, chronic lung disease, heart disease, and stroke), and women experience unique smoking risks related to pregnancy, oral contraceptive use, menstrual function, and cervical cancer.3
The Report Card benchmark is the Healthy People 2010 goal of reducing cigarette smoking among adults age 18 and older to 12 percent (when applied to women) [Healthy People 2010 Objective 27-1a].
| State | State Overall Data | State Grade | State Rank |
|---|---|---|---|
| Alabama | 19.7 | F | 41 |
| Alaska | 20.5 | F | 44 |
| Arizona | 14.3 | S- | 10 |
| Arkansas | 21.9 | F | 47 |
| California | 10.2 | S | 2 |
| Colorado | 14.6 | S- | 12 |
| Connecticut | 14.7 | S- | 13 |
| Delaware | 16.6 | U | 24 |
| District of Columbia | 14.8 | S- | 14 |
| Florida | 16.9 | U | 27 |
| Georgia | 15.5 | U | 20 |
| Hawaii | 13.9 | S- | 6 |
| Idaho | 13.9 | S- | 6 |
| Illinois | 16.7 | U | 25 |
| Indiana | 21.4 | F | 46 |
| Iowa | 14.8 | S- | 14 |
| Kansas | 17.1 | U | 28 |
| Kentucky | 24.2 | F | 51 |
| Louisiana | 19.3 | F | 37 |
| Maine | 15.8 | U | 21 |
| Maryland | 13.8 | S- | 3 |
| Massachusetts | 14.0 | S- | 8 |
| Michigan | 18.2 | F | 35 |
| Minnesota | 14.9 | S- | 16 |
| Mississippi | 19.8 | F | 43 |
| Missouri | 22.0 | F | 48 |
| Montana | 17.3 | U | 30 |
| Nebraska | 15.0 | S- | 18 |
| Nevada | 21.3 | F | 45 |
| New Hampshire | 14.3 | S- | 10 |
| New Jersey | 14.2 | S- | 9 |
| New Mexico | 16.1 | U | 23 |
| New York | 16.8 | U | 26 |
| North Carolina | 17.7 | F | 32 |
| North Dakota | 17.9 | F | 33 |
| Ohio | 19.5 | F | 39 |
| Oklahoma | 24.0 | F | 50 |
| Oregon | 17.2 | U | 29 |
| Pennsylvania | 19.1 | F | 36 |
| Rhode Island | 14.9 | S- | 16 |
| South Carolina | 19.3 | F | 37 |
| South Dakota | 18.1 | F | 34 |
| Tennessee | 19.6 | F | 40 |
| Texas | 13.8 | S- | 3 |
| Utah | 7.7 | S | 1 |
| Vermont | 15.0 | S- | 18 |
| Virginia | 15.8 | U | 21 |
| Washington | 13.8 | S- | 3 |
| West Virginia | 23.6 | F | 49 |
| Wisconsin | 17.3 | U | 30 |
| Wyoming | 19.7 | F | 41 |
Data Source: Smoking (%), 2009.
EXPLANATION: This measure includes women age 18 and older in the non-institutionalized civilian population who report ever smoking 100 cigarettes in their lifetime and reported smoking every day or some days.
SOURCE: Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System Survey Data (BRFSS), 2009, available at http://apps.nccd.cdc.gov/brfss/index.asp and U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Office of Public Health and Science, Office on Women’s Health. Quick Health Data Online, 2010, Washington, DC, 2010, available at http://www.womenshealth.gov/quickhealthdata. The national overall number and national data by age are the median of 50 states and the District of Columbia. Data for race/ethnicity and age are three-year averages from 2007-2009 and are age-adjusted to the 2000 standard population
1 American Cancer Society, “Cancer Facts and Figures-2009,” available at http://www.cancer.org/downloads/STT/500809web.pdf
2 Centers for Disease Control and Prevention,” Lung Cancer, Risk Factors. (Atlanta: U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, January 2010), available at http://www.cdc.gov/cancer/lung/basic_info/risk_factors.htm
3 American Cancer Society, “Women and Smoking: An epidemic of smoking-related cancer and disease in women,” November, 2009, available at http://www.cancer.org/docroot/ped/content/ped_10_2x_women_and_smoking.asp
