Smoking Prevalence, Mortality Ranges Widely From State to State

WASHINGTON—Smoking prevalence varies considerably from state to state among both adults and students, according to new data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). In 1999, adult prevalence ranged from 13.9% in Utah to 31.5% in Nevada. For students (grades 9-12), the rate varied between a low of 11.9% in Utah to a high of 43.6% in South Dakota. Smoking-related deaths ranged from 188 per 100,000 population in Utah to 469 per 100,000 in Nevada. Kentucky had the highest lung cancer mortality rate in 1997, 53.2 per 100,000, and Utah had the lowest, 14.2 per 100,000.