A new study by Andrew Fenelon of Brown University suggests that smoking accounts for high mortality in the Central South of the United States. US mortality data from vital statistics on cause of death for the period 1965-2004 show that by 2004, the gap in mortality attributable to smoking between the Central Southern states and other states was exceptionally large: among men, smoking explained as much as 75 percent of the difference.
Between 1965 and 2004, the distribution of states with the highest mortality changed dramatically. In 1965, the states with the highest mortality (Rhode Island, Alaska, Delaware, Pennsylvania, and New Hampshire) were spread across geographic regions. By 2004, however, the states with the highest mortality were geographically contiguous, and located in the south. The Central South (Alabama, Kentucky, Mississippi, and Tennessee) had the highest mortality rates in the United States. A new study by Andrew Fenelon of Brown University explores the possibility that smoking behaviors account for this situation.
Fenelon used US mortality data from vital statistics on cause of death for the period 1965-2004 and, for the purposes of this study, considered lung cancer deaths to be indicative of cigarette smoking. In the US, more than 90 percent of lung cancer deaths among men and more than 80 percent among women result from smoking. Although the prevalence of smoking declined in all states in that time period, southern states, particularly Kentucky, have maintained overall high levels of smoking.
Fenelon found that in the Central South, mortality attributable to smoking peaked later than in other regions and at a significantly higher death rate, indicating a greater and more persistent burden of smoking. By 2004, the gap in mortality attributable to smoking between the Central Southern states and states in other regions was exceptionally large: among men, smoking explained as much as 75 percent of the difference between the Central South and other US regions.
Laws and policies in the Central South do not strongly discourage smoking. There are currently 10 states with no statewide ban on smoking (for example, in workplaces or restaurants); nearly all of these states are in the South. State taxes on tobacco products also remain low in the Central Southern states compared to other states with lower mortality from smoking. Studies have shown that smoking bans and tobacco taxes reduce the prevalence of smoking.
This study highlights geographic inequalities in health and mortality within the US and underscores the importance of narrowing these gaps as a public policy goal.
Explore further: Deaths from pancreatic cancer rise, fall along racial lines
More information: This article is available free of charge for a limited time at onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/j.1728-4457.2013.00630.x/abstract
Provided by Population Council
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A new study by Andrew Fenelon of Brown University suggests that smoking accounts for high mortality in the Central South of the United States. US mortality data from vital statistics on cause of death for the period 1965-2004 show that by 2004, the gap in mortality attributable to smoking between the Central Southern states and other states was exceptionally large: among men, smoking explained as much as 75 percent of the difference.
Between 1965 and 2004, the distribution of states with the highest mortality changed dramatically. In 1965, the states with the highest mortality (Rhode Island, Alaska, Delaware, Pennsylvania, and New Hampshire) were spread across geographic regions. By 2004, however, the states with the highest mortality were geographically contiguous, and located in the south. The Central South (Alabama, Kentucky, Mississippi, and Tennessee) had the highest mortality rates in the United States. A new study by Andrew Fenelon of Brown University explores the possibility that smoking behaviors account for this situation.
Fenelon used US mortality data from vital statistics on cause of death for the period 1965-2004 and, for the purposes of this study, considered lung cancer deaths to be indicative of cigarette smoking. In the US, more than 90 percent of lung cancer deaths among men and more than 80 percent among women result from smoking. Although the prevalence of smoking declined in all states in that time period, southern states, particularly Kentucky, have maintained overall high levels of smoking.
Fenelon found that in the Central South, mortality attributable to smoking peaked later than in other regions and at a significantly higher death rate, indicating a greater and more persistent burden of smoking. By 2004, the gap in mortality attributable to smoking between the Central Southern states and states in other regions was exceptionally large: among men, smoking explained as much as 75 percent of the difference between the Central South and other US regions.
Laws and policies in the Central South do not strongly discourage smoking. There are currently 10 states with no statewide ban on smoking (for example, in workplaces or restaurants); nearly all of these states are in the South. State taxes on tobacco products also remain low in the Central Southern states compared to other states with lower mortality from smoking. Studies have shown that smoking bans and tobacco taxes reduce the prevalence of smoking.
This study highlights geographic inequalities in health and mortality within the US and underscores the importance of narrowing these gaps as a public policy goal.
Explore further: Deaths from pancreatic cancer rise, fall along racial lines
More information: This article is available free of charge for a limited time at onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/j.1728-4457.2013.00630.x/abstract
Provided by Population Council
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Deaths from pancreatic cancer rise, fall along racial lines
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Pancreatic cancer death rates in whites and blacks have gone in opposite directions over the past several decades in the United States, with the direction reversing in each ethnicity during those years. The finding comes ...
Lung cancer death rates among young and middle-aged white women climb in some states
Jun 25, 2012
A new study comparing lung cancer death rates among women by year of birth shows dramatic differences in trends between states, likely reflecting the success or failure of tobacco control efforts. The study, published in ...
New findings lead researchers to call for worldwide recording of smoking in death registries
Aug 22, 2013
Researchers today call for official death registries in all countries to record whether the dead person was a smoker, in a research article published in The Lancet.
Burden of heart disease, stroke quantified in united states
Dec 23, 2013
(HealthDay)—The burden of heart disease and stroke is considerable in the United States, according to a American Heart Association Statistical Update published online Dec. 18 in Circulation.
States vary in implementation of smoking reduction policies
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(HealthDay)—The prevalence of smoking and the implementation of combined interventions to reduce smoking vary between states, according to a report published by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and ...
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