How substantial is the effect of smoking on the health of Americans? It is leading cause of preventable deaths, disability and disease in America, according to the CDC. This is because smoking can damage most organs in the body.
Although the number of people who smoke has dropped, as of 2019, 14% of all Americans smoked.
The American Lung Association posts a report titled “State of Tobacco Control”. Among its findings are that across many states laws to lower smoking rates has inadequate. Another finding was that certain kinds of tobacco can cause more problems than others. The authors wrote: “A recent study showed that while overall cigarette use declined by 26% over the past decade, 91% of that decline was due to non-menthol cigarettes.”
Using data from County Health Rankings & Roadmaps, a Robert Wood Johnson Foundation and University of Wisconsin Population Health Institute joint program, 24/7 Wall St. identified the metro area with the most smоkers. Metropolitan areas we considered are ranked on the adult smоking rate — the share of the 18 and older population who smоke every day or most days and have smоked at least 100 сigarettes in their lifetime.
Smоking rates in the metro areas we evaluated range from over 22% to nearly 28%. The majority of metro areas we considered are located in Southern states. However, seven of the metro areas with the highest smоking rates are in Ohio, more than any other single state.
Given the proven detrimental effects of smоking, it is perhaps not surprising that some important health outcome measures tend to be worse than average in metros with higher smоking rates.
The US city with the most smokers is Beckley, WV. Here are the details:
> Smoking rate: 27.9%
> Adults reporting poor or fair health: 25.6% — 15th highest of 384 metros
> Premature deaths per 100,000: 611.4 — the highest of 384 metros
> Life expectancy at birth (years): 72.69 — the lowest of 384 metros
Click here to read US Cities With The Most Smokers
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