U.S. smoking-attributable death rate drops

ATLANTA, Jan. 22 (UPI) -- The annual rate of U.S. smoking-attributable deaths per 100,000 people declined by approximately 25 deaths from 1996-99 to 2000-04, officials said.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's Mortality and Morbidity Weekly Report released Thursday said that smoking-attributable deaths for 1996-99 was 288 per 100,000 but dropped in 2000-04 to 263 per 100,000.

During 2000-04, the rate of deaths per 100,000 people caused by cigarette smoking varied substantially across the 50 states and the District of Columbia, from a high of 370 in Kentucky to 138 in Utah.

These most recent smoking-attributable mortality estimates indicate cigarette smoking continues to impose a substantial health burden on U.S. adults in all states and particularly in those states with a history of higher smoking rates, the report said.

The report said all states except one had decreased smoking-attributable mortality rates overall and among men from 1996-99 to 2000-04, reflecting the overall decrease in smoking in the United States. However, among women, declines were observed in only 32 states due to the later pattern of decline in smoking among women, the report said.