Cessation

Tobacco use is the single most preventable cause of death in the United States. Smoking harms nearly every organ of the body, causing many diseases and affecting the health of smokers in general. Quitting smoking has immediate as well as long-term benefits for you and your loved ones.
Tobacco use in West Virginia:
The consequences of tobacco use are well known to
West Virginians, yet residents continue to use tobacco in alarming
numbers.
While West Virginia is aggressively
addressing the problem by implementing evidence-based tobacco control programs
through the West Virginia Department of Health and Human Resources, Bureau for
Public Health’s Division of Tobacco Prevention, annual federal and state funding for
these efforts has dramatically decreased over the past five years to $1.595
million annually.
West Virginia Tobacco Use Statistics:
West Virginia continues to have the highest
reported adult smoking rates in the nation: 25.2% of adults living in West Virginia are
current smokers - smoking every day or some days. The national smoking prevalence for adults is
15.5% (BRFSS, 2018).
Gender - Men: 25.7% and Women: 24.8% reported current smoking in 2018.
Age - The prevalence of smoking is higher among those
aged 18-54 than those aged 55 and older. The prevalence of smoking is significantly
lower among those 55-64 (26.7%) and those aged 65 and older (13.9%) than among
any other age group. The prevalence of
smoking is highest in the 25-34 age group (34.8%).
Education - The prevalence of smoking is lowest
among college graduates (11.3%) and is significantly lower than all other
education groups. Adults with less than
a high school diploma have the highest prevalence of current cigarette smoking
(44.2%), and the prevalence is significantly higher than all other education
groups.
Other West
Virginia data and facts to consider (from WV SAMMEC data
2006-2010):
·
10
WV residents die each day because they smoked cigarettes.
·
19%
of the State’s mortality among adults age 35 & older is attributed to
smoking
·
Smoking
and smoking-related illnesses annually cost WV employers $1,865 per smoker in
excess medical expenses.
·
Smoking
and smoking-related illnesses annually amount to $2,811 per smoker in lost
productivity.
The U.S. surgeon General has recently released a Best Practices User Guide: Cessation in Tobacco Prevention and Control. To view this report click here.
For More Information about the Tobacco Cessation Program contact Michele Bowles at Michele.l.bowles@wv.gov.