State's adult smoking rates hit a new low

Got smoke?

Bumming a cigarette should be a bit harder now that Washington's adult smoking rates have dropped to a new low.

The state Department of Health said Wednesday that 16.5 percent of adult residents smoked in 2007, below the national rate of 19.8 percent and sixth lowest among all states. In 2006, the state ranked fifth-lowest in the nation with a 17 percent smoking rate.

But smoking rates among the poorest and least educated residents haven't budged significantly in years. Almost a third of adults with less than $25,000 in household incomes are smokers, for instance.

Equally worrisome is the fact that 20 percent of 12th graders in Washington smoke. Public-health officials know that if they can keep a person off tobacco before age 18, chances are slim that the person will ever light up.

The state's overall smoking rate has fallen by 26 percent since 1999. In 2000, Washington beefed up its tobacco-prevention efforts with $100 million of the $4.5 billion the state received from tobacco companies as part of a national settlement over allegations that cigarette makers had concealed health risks of nicotine for decades.

The state's tobacco-prevention spending has ballooned from $2 million a year before the settlement money to $28 million today, said Tim Church, a Health Department spokesman. About $10 million of that comes from tobacco taxes.

The state operates a free quit line, 800-QUIT-NOW or 877-2NO-FUME in Spanish, with information and live coaches for smokers. For those committed to quitting, the state supplies two weeks' worth of nicotine gum or patches for free.

Low-income residents enrolled in Medicaid are eligible to receive up to a 12-week supply as well as prescription drugs to curb their craving.

The state also pays for anti-smoking programs in schools and public-education campaigns.

Kyung Song: 206-464-2423 or ksong@seattletimes.com