Cigarette smoking is the most preventable cause of disease and death in the United States. The effects that smoking can have on a person's health are numerous and include an increased risk of cancer, heart disease, and respiratory diseases. Smoking during pregnancy can result in miscarriages, premature delivery, and sudden infant death syndrome. Environmental (second hand) tobacco smoke increases the risk of heart disease and significant lung conditions, especially asthma and bronchitis in children.
Fortunately, smoking rates have undergone a relatively steady decline in the United States since 1997, with a few fluctuations upward.
According to the American Lung Association, ”Smoking is directly responsible for more than 80 percent of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD, or emphysema and chronic bronchitis) deaths and approximately 90 percent of lung cancer deaths." Smoking is also a major risk factor for coronary heart disease, stroke and lower respiratory tract infections - all leading causes of death in those over 50 years of age.
In December 2005, Washington became the tenth state in the U.S. to implement a comprehensive statewide law prohibiting smoking in all indoor public places and workplaces, including restaurants, bars, taverns, bowling alleys, skating rinks, and non-tribal casinos. Additionally, under the ban, smoking is prohibited within 25 feet of entrances, windows that open, and ventilation intakes of public places and workplaces. Washington was the fifth state to require all workplaces to be smoke free.
This indicator measures the percent of adults in Walla Walla County who smoke cigarettes. To be considered a smoker, adults self-report through the CDC’s Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System that they have smoked at least 100 cigarettes in their lifetime and are currently smoking. Washington State is offered as a benchmark.
