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

March 13, 2009 / Vol. 58 / No. 9

MMWR Introduction

According to the CDC's Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System (BRFSS), in 2007, cigarette smoking prevalence among the 50 states, the District of Columbia, Guam, Puerto Rico, and U.S. Virgin Islands ranged from 8.7% to 31.1%. States varied substantially in both levels of smoking and trends in smoking during the past 10 years, and these variations can be attributed to factors such as differences in population demographics, differing levels of tobacco control programs and policies, and variations in tobacco industry marketing and promotion. The present rate of decline will very likely be too slow in almost all states other than Utah to achieve the Healthy People 2010 objective unless comprehensive, evidence-based tobacco control programs are fully implemented in all states.