State-Specific Prevalence and Trends in Adult Cigarette Smoking—United States, 1998-2007

Davis et al report on state-specific prevalence and trends in adult cigarette smoking in United States from 1998-2007. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention analyzed data from the 2007 Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System survey and examined trends in cigarette smoking from 1998-2007. Results of these analyses indicated substantial variation in current cigarette smoking during 2007 (range: 8.7%- 31.1%) among the 50 states, the District of Columbia, Guam, Puerto Rico, and the US Virgin Islands. Trend analyses of 1998-2007 data indicated that smoking prevalence decreased in 44 states, District of Columbia, and Puerto Rico, and six states had no substantial changes in prevalence after controlling for age, sex, and race/ethnicity. However, only Utah and US Virgin Islands met the Healthy People 2010 target for reducing adult smoking prevalence to 12%. Moreover, a CDC editorial note is included.