Smoking Deaths

When the founder and his wife took a working vacation to South Carolina they did more than just sun and fun themselves. They walked, talked and researched. And if you're from the IRS they performed all the necessary functions to render their trip fully tax deductible under the current terms of the tax code. That is also why we've added a new state to our regional reporting.

Although South Carolina is a big tobacco state it was surprising to discover so many non-smoking establishments, although there was smoking and most ridiculous was the non-smoking section of the New China Buffet where the food was plentiful, cheap and delicious. We found the best (meaning syrupy sweet) sweet tea in all of the state. The section was separated by a booth divider that was waist high. Fortunately there were no noticeable smokers in the smoking section.

"Tobacco use is the single most preventable cause of death in the United States. Each year in the United States, cigarette smoking and exposure to secondhand smoke causes 443,000 or 1 in 5 deaths. Economic losses are also staggering. Smoking-caused diseases result in $96 billion in health care costs annually." - Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC)

But enough about the new addition. Let's put things into perspective by examining the winners and losers in the area of smoking health. How do we rank, meaning our region? In order of importance by how we will survive in the number one (1) spot at nineteenth (19th) is:

District of Columbia - "Among adults ages 35+ years, over 700 died as a result of tobacco use per year, on average, during 2000-2004. This represents a smoking-attributable mortality rate of 249.9 / 100,000. The District of Columbia's smoking-attributable mortality rate ranks 19th among the states."

It's all over after the District of Columbia because followed by all the over twentieth (20th) place with the others following with the great state of -

Maryland - "Among adults aged 35+ years, over 6,900 died as a result of tobacco use per year, on average, during 2000-2004. This represents a smoking-attributable mortality rate of 261.9 / 100,000. Maryland's smoking-attributable mortality rate ranks 23rd among the states."

Rounding out the twentieth (20th) level is the southern state of -

Virginia - "Among adults aged 35+ years, over 9,200 died as a result of tobacco use per year, on average, during 2000-2004. This represents a smoking-attributable mortality rate of 267.0 / 100,000. Virginia's smoking-attributable mortality rate ranks 28th among the states."

As the newcomer its certainly not the least or the last in the rankings, the very southern of the Carolinas

South Carolina - "Among adults aged 35+ years, over 6,100 died as a result of tobacco use per year, on average, during 2000-2004. This represents a smoking-attributable mortality rate of 293.4 / 100,000. South Carolina's smoking-attributable mortality rate ranks 37th among the states."

The editor has picked tobacco or at least attempted to pick tobacco as a child in the state of his birth, the most northern of the Carolinas -

North Carolina - "Among adults aged 35+ years, over 12,300 died as a result of tobacco use per year, on average, during 2000-2004. This represents a smoking-attributable mortality rate of 298.4 / 100,000. North Carolina's smoking-attributable mortality rate ranks 38th among the states."

 The Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has released reports congratulating California for their successful handling of their whooping cough outbreak and administration of their H1N1 flu inoculations. As always if you don't want your grandchildren to fall victim to its effects you'll need a shot for that!

"Pertussis, also known as whooping cough, is a highly contagious respiratory disease. It is caused by the bacterium Bordetella pertussis. Pertussis is known for uncontrollable, violent coughing which often makes it hard to breathe. After fits of many coughs, someone with pertussis often needs to take deep breathes which result in a "whooping" sound. Pertussis most commonly affects infants and young children and can be fatal, especially in babies less than 1 year of age. The best way to protect against pertussis is immunization." - Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC)

The CDC press release said:

New Data Show Gains in Public Health Preparedness - "Today's report indicates that our nation is better prepared to respond to a public health emergency. It also reminds us that preparedness challenges remain and our efforts need to continue," said Dr. Ali Khan, director of CDC's Office of Public Health Preparedness and Response. "We must foster improvements for rapid awareness, identification, and communication of health threats; measurable preparedness goals and response plans; and ongoing support for state and local public health." - Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC)

The Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has released reports congratulating California for their successful handling of their whooping cough outbreak and administration of their H1N1 flu inoculations. As always if you don't want your grandchildren to fall victim to its effects you'll need a shot for that!

So who are the CDC's top ten states that are making great strides? They are in order of success:

Percentage of Recommended Tobacco Control Investment, 2007 - Maine, 1, 85.5%; Delaware, 2, 79.4%; Wyoming, 3, 78.2%; Alaska, 4, 70.7%; Hawaii, 5, 66.6%; Vermont, 6, 61.8%; Montana, 7, 57.3%; Colorado, 8, 48.7%; North Dakota, 9, 47.1%; Arkansas, 10, 44.3% - Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC)

There are other rankings at the same site where you our region can do much better than published in other categories. Think of it as those other categories in the beauty pageant that have nothing to do with beauty. That's for the really desperate who wants better news than you've lost! You can go there find better news if you must and we're certain that our leaders will.