State

Tobacco Control State Highlights 2012
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has released a new report that highlights high-impact tobacco control strategies and assesses states’ performance in implementing these measures. This report provides data that can be used to view how individual states are performing in tobacco control, and assist policymakers with decision making. State-specific data such as tobacco use prevalence by demographic characteristics of youth and adults, past year cigarette initiation, exposure to secondhand smoke, and statewide smoke-free policies among other topics are included in this report. States are in a position to reduce smoking rates and improve the health of the public by implementing effective tobacco control policies and programs, and this report assists them in achieving these goals. Click here to access a one-page fact sheet that summarizes the findings of the report.

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National

21st-century hazards of smoking and benefits of cessation in the United States
A new study published in the New England Journal of Medicine provides evidence of the harmful health effects of smoking, and how lifespan and causes of death are impacted by continuing to smoke. The researchers analyzed smoking and smoking cessation histories from adult men and women who participated in the U.S. National Health Interview Survey between 1997 and 2004. Among current smokers between the ages of 25 and 79 years old, the rate of death from any cause was three times higher than the rate among those who had never smoked. Excess mortality among smokers was attributed to smoking-related issues such as neoplastic, vascular, and respiratory conditions. Additionally, the probability of surviving from 20 to 79 years old was two times higher for nonsmokers compared to smokers, and life expectancy was shortened by about ten years among the current smokers. Quitting smoking earlier in life resulted in greater gains in life expectancy compared to participants who remained smokers; quitting between the ages of 25 to 34 yielded an additional 10 years of life expectancy versus a gain of 6 years among those who quit between ages 45 to 54. Click here to read a summary of the findings, or click here to read the study abstract.

50-year trends in smoking-related mortality in the United States
A recent study assessed trends in smoking-related mortality across three time periods: 1959-1965, 1982-1988, and 2000-2010. Absolute and relative risks were examined by sex and self-reported smoking status among adults 55 years old and older using historical cohort data and contemporary cohort studies. The researchers found that among women who were smokers, the relative risk of lung cancer death increased over time. Male smokers’ risk of death from chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) increased over the course of the study as well. Women and men who were current smokers were reported to be at similar risk for death from smoking-related diseases. Additionally, men ages 55 to 74 and 60 to 74 who were current smokers have a three times higher risk for all-cause mortality compared to nonsmokers. Smoking cessation dramatically reduced death rates at any age. Click here to read the study abstract published in the New England Journal of Medicine.

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International

Blood pressure, smoking and alcohol: The health risks with the biggest burden
According to a recent study published in The Lancet, smoking and alcohol use have become the second and third leading health risks globally. This study was conducted by an international collaboration of scientists as part of the Global Burden of Disease Study 2010. The number one health risk factor was high blood pressure followed by smoking and alcohol use, with the latter two having overtaken child hunger in the last twenty years. Risk factors related to chronic diseases in adults are of growing concern globally. Associated with 6.3 million deaths worldwide in 2010, tobacco use and secondhand smoke exposure combined were responsible for the biggest disease burden in Western Europe and in high-income North American countries. Tobacco use and secondhand smoke exposure are associated with several adverse health effects, and this report provides evidence of tobacco’s increasing impact as a risk factor for poor health worldwide. Click here to read more. Click here to access the study abstract.

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