The adult smoking rate in Arizona has dropped to an all-time low, with more than 200,000 Arizonans kicking the habit in the last five years.
New data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention shows that the adult smoking rate in Arizona has dropped to a historic low of 14 percent. The new 2015 Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System report shows the percentage of Arizona adults who smoke has dropped from 19.3 percent in 2011.
This decrease translates to more than 200,000 Arizonans who quit smoking, just over the last five years. Smoking is a leading cause of death in the United States and Arizona, which is why helping people quit smoking is a top priority of the Arizona Department of Health Services.
“I am excited to see this significant decrease in the number of people smoking in our state,” said Dr. Cara Christ, director of the Arizona Department of Health Services. “As we all know, smoking causes several negative health effects such as heart disease, cancer, respiratory disease, and stroke.”
The impact this drop has on our state reaches far beyond the 200,000 people who made the positive choice to quit smoking, according to Dr. Christ.
“Secondhand smoke is also harmful to family members who don’t smoke, especially children,” said Dr. Christ. “The more people who make the choice to quit, the more lives will be improved in Arizona. As the saying goes, when you quit tobacco, you put more years in your life and more life in your years.”
