Smoking Rates, State By State

South and Midwest states continue to lead the pack in terms of highest smoking rates in the United States, according to the new Gallup-Healthways Well-Being Index, while states in the East and the West have the lowest smoking rates.

The results, based on the 177,600 interviews conducted between January and June of this year, show that on average, 21 percent of Americans still smoke today. The rate has been the same since 2008.

The rates are much lower than those of the 1940s to the 1970s, when smoking topped out around 40 percent, according to Gallup.

For the first half of the year, 18 states had a smoking rate that is lower than 20 percent, which is an improvement from 2010, when only eight states had a smoking rate below 20 percent. In 2008, there were 10 states with a smoking rate below 20 percent.

The Gallup results also showed that there were more smokers in the states where there are fewer smoking laws.

The results come on the day of the 36th Great American Smokeout, hosted by the American Cancer Society, to encourage people to quit smoking. November is also Lung Cancer Awareness Month; smoking is the leading cause of cancer, according to the National Cancer Institute.

Check out the Gallup ranking of states, from the ones with the lowest smoking rates to the ones with the highest.

Comments

[pjmont]

05:57 PM on 11/22/2011

Vaporizing the oils is much better on your lungs. These special pipes have carbon nano-tubes covering the smokeable which accomplish this. Also smoking the herb will decrease your chances of lung cancer as it dry's up the cell clusters that would turn cancerous later on. Green tea and apples also help the lungs recover. Never do bad stuff for your body without compensating for it and you should be able to vaporize first then smoke the tar free remainder well into retirement. Be responsible for your habit. Why smoke tobacco at all if it doesn't give you a nice feeling like the natural herbs do like purple sage or synthetic?
Peace out.

[Lisa Stalcup]

12:02 PM on 11/20/2011

it is a addiction , people need help to stop , do we expect heroin addicts to stop with no help, ,, Prohibition did) not cure or even diminish it (affinity for alcohol)." Not only was it unpopular, but it caused incalculable harm to society. alcohol was no longer subject to health inspection, various ingredients were used to make homemade liquor and brew, many of which were harmful or even fatal. the illegal alcohol market was generating millions of dollars per year.and no taxes were being taken from the making and sales of it ,Outlawing alcohol only encouraged more people to try it. Prohibition did not end drinking in America; it merely intensified drinking by driving it underground.

yes the world would be better off if no one smoked ,, but if they are going to force all people to stop smoking , the same should be done for drinking , but that was tried before
the world would be better if we didn't have drinking smoking ,, eating of fast foods meat ,high fat foods , cars that spew out nasty flumes , factories that spews poisons in to the air ,and men that proclaim we need to attack this country because they have oil and we want it, since we are so superior in our country lets tell all the other's how to live ,the world is what it is ..sad

[Teresa Perojo]

07:59 PM on 11/19/2011

Seriously of all the problems in the world this is a high priority? We all have bad habits, some of us it's smoking, drinking but none of us are without some kind of sin, but you don't see the 3 martini politicians putting a tax on liquor like they do on tobacco?

[Iatros78]

08:38 PM on 11/19/2011

Well Teresa, according to the CDC, tobacco use is the leading cause of preventable death and disease, killing more Americans yearly than car crashes, murder, suicide, AIDS, alcohol abuse, and illegal drugs, combined. So I assume that you think that car crashes, murder, suicide, AIDS, alcohol abuse, and illegal drugs are even less significant problems and should be ignored even more than smoking. Right?

[Teresa Perojo]

08:54 PM on 11/19/2011

Well as someone that works in a hospital ER guess what, it's not smoking that kills these people! And I didnt say it should be ignored I said it gets put ahead of other bad things that people do. Or when it comes to taxes and politicians, they don't tax their alcohol!!!! Believe me skiing season coming up here and you know what it's not a cigarette that breaks those peoples necks or arms or legs, it's not a cigarette that brings on the snowstorms that bring in the accident victims, work in an ER sometime, you will see what I am talking about, there are more important issues to address, if you smoke you know it's going to kill you, that is a grown up choice you make!

[Jc Heard]

09:49 PM on 11/19/2011

You failed to mention the # 3 killer from medical errors in hospital. more than 225.000 people die from medical errors each year in hospitals, furthermore presciption drugs is a leading killer in the USA, more than 2 million people hospitalized each year from serious adverse drug reation, over 100.000 died as result, more than 100.000 people die from alcohol related deaths each year, 6 million car accidents each year, 40.000 killed, 3 million injured, 2 million of them permanent, why dont they ever mention the above facts? The American cancer society wnats to keep down grading smoking to keep the money coming in, as well as all the charitys harping on smoking. this what I purpose stop smoking "if you want to" stop driving, stop drinking and most definity stay out of hospitals

[srynmichael2]

09:02 AM on 11/20/2011

True.

[Stagger Lee1]

10:22 AM on 11/19/2011

As a kid when I needed to see a Dr. most all of them, would exame me with a cigarette hanging out of their mouths, just try and picture that today.....even when he would send me to the lab and have blood work, the technicion would be smoking, although he did have an ash tray (usually) full of buts.. I grew up smoking (12yrs.old) when they used to have the vending machines, catch nobody looking.....35 cents, pull the knob for Marlboro....hall tail..(lol) I still smoke and drink some, need to stop both, I am 43.....my luck, I'd be crossing the street with no cigarette, no buzz, and get hit by a drunk driver....my grandday told me 30yrs. ago that he knowes more old drunks who smoke than old Dr.s......and he is gone now, but also said "god watches out for babies and drunks". In a lighter view, I can see some of my grandaddys points of view....."but, I have always told my children, 25yrs. and 14yrs. dont do either...They have actually listened to me (once anyway) haha

[srynmichael2]

09:04 AM on 11/20/2011

Ah, the good ole' days.

[deepak gogoi]

12:38 AM on 11/19/2011

In India smoking is becoming a great problem even kids smoke, though campaign by NGO's & government agencies are their, but its not able to educate people. The lacuna lies in our society itself.

[Gayle Williams]

02:33 AM on 11/20/2011

Maybe thats their way of population control, but it will be expensive.

[gwenfayr]

10:51 PM on 11/18/2011

Kentucky as no. 1 is a surprise???

[onlyThis]

09:32 PM on 11/18/2011

What is the upside of smoking? It's expensive, it makes you stink and it greatly increases your chance of health problems. Besides, if you are single and smoke 70-80 percent of the population is not going to want to date you.

[Afterschool Carl]

08:15 PM on 11/23/2011

I smoke because I adore being lectured.

[FreshKilluh]

06:55 PM on 11/18/2011

Utah is penis mountain....haha.

[Blairjy]

04:37 PM on 11/18/2011

"The Gallup results also showed that there were more smokers in the states where there are fewer smoking laws."

Interesting that we have laws in Ohio regarding smoking and still tied for 45th. Obviously, Kentucky does not have laws against smoking but is that necessarily the reason for high percent of smokers? Or could it be that cigarette prices in that area are prehaps among the lowest in the country?

[gwenfayr]

10:52 PM on 11/18/2011

I was in Covington, KY a few years ago and they had ash trays set out on the tables at the local McDonalds!!! They're just nasty when it comes to smoking!

[Iatros78]

08:45 PM on 11/19/2011

Ohio had higher than average smoking rates before it eliminated smoking in public places. Most significantly, Ohio under both its Democratic (Strickland) and Republican (Kasich) governors diverted all money won from the Master Settlement Agreement with tobacco companies to everything but preventing children from beginning to smoke and helping those already addicted to stop smoking. Ohio does not spend a dime to reduce smoking in the state. The American Lung Association gives Ohio a grade of "F" for its tobacco control policies. Ohio's clean indoor air law was a citizens-initiated referendum. Ohio's politicians, both Democrat and Republican, have done nothing to combat the state's tobacco epidemic.

[Blairjy]

10:55 AM on 11/21/2011

I'm not familiar with the numbers of smokers in Ohio before the law was passed. I am only commenting on the fact that we do have laws against it. No smoking at hospitals, most campus', and 25 feet from any building. Yet we still have many smokers. It doesn't really suprise me that some have quit as you stated. I was only questioning the conclusion of the story - More laws = Less smokers- without regard to rising cigarette costs and growing unemployment.

[DonJuanDeLinux]

12:52 PM on 11/18/2011

Ok, Utah is "the Mormon Effect", but California? Any explanations anyone?

[HarryP]

01:50 PM on 11/18/2011

CA -- No smoking in public places - like parks , beaches, near government buildings and schools, no smoking in restaurants not even in those with outside dining , and all Californians (or almost all) a very health conscious

[Gayle Williams]

02:36 AM on 11/20/2011

Sorry but that is B.S.

[jstmerue2u2]

07:48 AM on 11/20/2011

their are also towns in cali that u can not even smoke in your own yard only in ur house

[Misty Sanchez]

06:46 PM on 11/18/2011

Have you ever been to California? You can't be within 20 feet of ANY public building entrance let alone be inside a public building while smoking. I always seem to forget this when I go to another state and they still ask questions like "Smoking or non-smoking" when I go to a restaurant. I was a little kid the last time I got asked that question here in California. And as HarryP stated, we're a more health-conscious state in general I think-at least I am.

[sugarpops]

12:43 PM on 11/18/2011

Growing up most if not all of the adults my parents socialized with smoked. It was socially acceptable and encouraged. It was portrayed as elegant and sophisticated in movies, on television and in ads.
It was also much easier to quit smoking because there were less chemicals in the cigarettes.
I quit over ten years ago but no matter how hard my husband trys he can't quit. He knows that he is poisoning himself. He knows he is an addict. He continues to try cutting down on the number of cigarrettes he smokes.
I do blame the cigarrette companies for pushing tobacco products and hope someday the world will be free from this foul addiction.

[HarryP]

01:51 PM on 11/18/2011

tip for your husband - he should try Wellbutrin - his doctor will prescribe it to him...
it will help

[gwenfayr]

10:56 PM on 11/18/2011

Be careful with Welbutrin. I was using it for depression and I got suicidal. Depends on the person, but you need to really watch the side effects.

[Jimmy 61762]

02:31 PM on 11/18/2011

You said it,the chemicals they pet in cause it to become much more addictive.It should be illegal to add these chemicals to the product.Tobacco is more addictive than heroin or meth.

[CleanMe1]

04:47 PM on 11/18/2011

Pipe tobacco (real pipe tobacco) does not have the additives the cigarette tobacco does. It can be rolled as a cigarette, it much less addictive, and much less offensive in odor.

[phatkatt]

12:42 PM on 11/18/2011

If you are a non-smoker, what you notice most often is not the percentage of smokers around you, but the number of them per square yard. Population density is an important factor. Manhattan is really smoky even though the percentage of smokers is not that high.

[PeterLoffredo]

11:37 AM on 11/18/2011

Is it biased to point out that these same states are also the ones with the highest rates of teenage pregnancy, illiteracy, spanking of children and a consistent tradition of voting for conservative candidates in presidential elections?
I mean, really?!
http://fullpermissionliving.blogspot.com/

[Gayle Williams]

02:44 AM on 11/20/2011

Had to come up didn't it.

[BigWave940]

11:08 AM on 11/18/2011

Two words.
American Spirit.

[Iatros78]

09:54 PM on 11/19/2011

Your need to add some more words, two aren't enough. How about this: American Spirit cigarettes cause lung cancer, heart disease, and COPD. American Spirit "natural" cigarettes is a marketing ploy by its owner, RJ Reynolds Tobacco. RJ Reynolds Tobacco is a mass murdering enterprise and a convicted racketeer as well. People who mistakenly think "natural" means "safe" or "healthy" should consider that asbestos is 100% "natural." All natural asbestos will destroy you lungs. So will all natural tobacco.

[BigWave940]

10:55 AM on 11/21/2011

RElax.
I don't even smoke.
I was making a joke.

[wheatsavage]

10:39 AM on 11/18/2011

Crap, put some worthwhile pics on the slide show or dont do it all!