Survey reveals big drop in smoking

Thursday, Oct. 28, 2004 | 11:06 a.m.

CARSON CITY -- A combination of educational programs and a tax increase on a pack of cigarettes have helped reduce adult smoking in Nevada to its lowest rate in the last 10 years, a state health official said this morning.

Luana Ritch, health program specialist for the state Health Division, said today that 25.2 percent of the state's adults were smokers last year, down from a high of 31.5 percent in 1999.

"These are encouraging results," Ritch said after presenting the figures to the Task Force for the Fund for a Healthy Nevada on Wednesday.

There has also been a "significant drop" in smoking prevalence in Clark County, Ritch said. The figures show 26 percent adults smoking in 2003 in Clark County compared with a high of 33 percent in 1999.

Clark County is "still slightly higher than the state but it is still quite a reduction," she said.

And while there is a downward trend, Nevada is still above the national median of 22 percent, she said.

"We have been in the Top 10 (for adult smokers) consistently over the last decade until 2002," she said. "We are no longer in the Top 10."

Ritch said she was studying the national data to see where Nevada ranked among the states in 2003. In 2002, 26 percent of Nevada's adults were smokers, a rate that was the tenth highest among the states. The highest smoking rate for adults in 2002 was 34.8 percent in Kentucky, while the lowest rate was Utah's 14.2 percent.

The figures are based on yearlong telephone surveys conducted in every state.

The reduction in Nevada is due in part to the anti-smoking public information programs carried out in Clark and Washoe counties, Fitch said. In addition a growing number of establishments, particularly restaurants, are adopting smoke-free policies.

The per-pack price tax increase of 45 cents effective in August 2003 also is believed to have help reduce the number of smokers, she said.

There's been a dramatic drop in the number of women who smoke, according to the survey. It indicated that 21.3 percent of women in Nevada smoked in 2003 compared with a high of 30.5 percent in 1997.

"In the past in Nevada women have smoked in nearly the same percentage as men," said Ritch. "That is one reason why Nevada ranked among the highest states for smoking prevalency."

The survey indicated 29 percent of Nevada men smoked last year compared with a high of 32.8 percent in 1999.

In order to maintain this downward trend, Ritch said there must be continued efforts to prevent adolescents from starting to smoke, programs to stop adults from smoking and limitations on exposure to secondhand smoke.

Petitions are being circulated in support of two initiatives to further restrict smoking in public places in Nevada. If organizers ae rsuccessful in getting the required 51,337 valid signatures, they will present the petitions to the 2005 Legislature.