Wide variation among CSG-ERC states in smoking rates and disparities

According to new numbers for 2014 from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), tobacco use is the leading cause of preventable disease and death in the US Tobacco use is blamed for 480,000 premature deaths and over $300 billion in direct healthcare costs each year and, unfortunately, CSG-ERC region states are not immune. In good news, the rate of smoking is dropping; 18.1% of adult Americans were current tobacco smokers in 2014, down from 21.2% three years before. Within our region, Delaware and Pennsylvania are tied for the highest rate at 19.9% while New York is lowest at 14.4%. More men than women smoke in all fifty states, but the gap between them varies considerably by state. Nationally, white adults are more likely to smoke but there is also wide variation prevalence by in race/ethnicity among smokers in our region.