Continued strong decline in smoking rates in King County

KING COUNTY, WASHINGTON - Twenty-five thousand fewer King County adults smoked in 2005 compared to the previous year, as new data released today show smoking rates dropped from 15% to 13.3%.

"Prevention activities are contributing to this very encouraging trend of reduced smoking," said King County Executive Ron Sims. "We must continue our effective local efforts to support tobacco cessation and provide accurate information to our community about the harmful effects of tobacco."

Reduced smoking rates may also be due to the enforcement of existing laws against youth purchase and possession of cigarettes, sampling of tobacco products and smoking in places of employment.

Beyond the overall positive news, there are concerning gaps. Those who earn less than $15,000 are twice as likely to smoke than those who earn more than $50,000. Similarly, people with mental illness and substance abuse problems are more likely to smoke.

"We cannot accept that those who are the poorest and most vulnerable own the biggest share of this addiction," said Dorothy Teeter, Interim Director and Health Officer for Public Health - Seattle & King County. "We must continue to provide accurate information about the effects of tobacco and support cessation efforts, focusing particularly on those sectors most affected."

To reach vulnerable populations, Public Health's Tobacco Prevention Program is engaging in partnerships including Health Care for the Homeless Network as well as organizations such as Highline Mental Health and the Downtown Emergency Service Center to increase education and cessation resources for their patients and clients who smoke.

The Tobacco Prevention Program is also continuing work on other programs that effectively reduce tobacco use, including:

• countering tobacco marketing and advertising
• enforcing tobacco possession laws
• training health care providers to assist their smoking clients to quit
• educating the public about the dangers of tobacco use

Smoking is a growing problem in multi-unit housing. The Tobacco Prevention Program receives calls weekly from condo and apartment residents suffering from secondhand smoke exposure from neighboring units, and supports these building complexes in voluntarily going smoke-free. "We need to find positive ways to limit exposure in the places where people should feel most secure — their own homes," said Roger Valdez, manager of Public Health's Tobacco Prevention Program.

For more information about the Tobacco Prevention Program at Public Health - Seattle & King County, visit: www.kingcounty.gov/health/tobacco

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