State-specific prevalence of cigarette smoking--United States, 1995

State-specific variation in the prevalence of cigarette smoking contributes to differences in the mortality patterns of smoking-related diseases, such as lung cancer, coronary heart disease, chronic bronchitis, and emphysema. In 1990, approximately 400,000 deaths were attributable to smoking: the median percentage of deaths attributable to smoking in all states were 19.2% (range: 13.4% in Utah to 24.0% in Nevada). State-specific surveillance of the prevalence of cigarette smoking can be used to direct and evaluate public health interventions to reduce smoking and the burden of smoking-related diseases on society. In June 1996, the Council of State and Territorial Epidemiologists (CSTE) recommended that cigarette smoking be added to the list of conditions designated as reportable by states to CDC. This report responds to the CSTE recommendation and summarizes state-specific prevalences of cigarette smoking by U.S. adults in 1995. During 1995, the prevalence of smoking varied among states and ranged from 13.2% (Utah) to 27.8% (Kentucky).