By Samuel Stebbins
24/7 Wall St. via The Center Square
Nearly half a million Americans annually die as a result of smoking, the leading cause of preventable death in the United States. Another 16 million Americans are living with a serious illness caused by smoking. Smoking also has an economic impact, including more than $225 billion each year spent on medical expenses to treat the smoking-related illness in the U.S. and over $156 billion in lost productivity.
Though the risks associated with smoking and tobacco use are well established and widely understood, 42.4 million American adults — or 16.6% of the adult population — smoke every day or most days and have smoked at least 100 cigarettes in their lifetime.
In Florida, the smoking rate is lower than it is nationwide. An estimated 14.9% of the 18 and older population in Florida are smokers, the 14th lowest smoking rate among states.
States where large shares of the population smoke often have below average health outcomes, and vice versa — and in at least one key measure, that pattern holds in Florida. Average life expectancy at birth in the state is 80.2 years, compared to 79.2 years nationwide.
All data used in this story is from the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation and the University of Wisconsin Population Health Institute joint program’s 2021 County Health Rankings & Roadmaps report.
Rank | State | Adults who smoke (%) | Avg. life expectancy at birth (years) |
---|---|---|---|
1 | West Virginia | 26.9 | 74.8 |
2 | Kentucky | 24.1 | 75.6 |
3 | Arkansas | 23.7 | 76.1 |
4 | Indiana | 21.7 | 77.1 |
5 | Ohio | 21.4 | 77.0 |
6 | Louisiana | 21.1 | 76.1 |
7 | Mississippi | 21.0 | 74.9 |
8 | Tennessee | 20.8 | 76.0 |
9 | South Dakota | 20.2 | 78.9 |
10 | Missouri | 20.1 | 77.3 |
11 | Michigan | 20.1 | 78.1 |
12 | Alabama | 20.0 | 75.6 |
13 | Oklahoma | 19.9 | 76.1 |
14 | North Dakota | 19.7 | 79.7 |
15 | Maine | 19.4 | 78.7 |
16 | Wyoming | 19.2 | 78.9 |
17 | Montana | 18.9 | 78.9 |
18 | South Carolina | 18.7 | 77.1 |
19 | Alaska | 18.5 | 79.0 |
20 | Pennsylvania | 17.9 | 78.5 |
21 | North Carolina | 17.9 | 78.1 |
22 | Kansas | 17.9 | 78.5 |
23 | Iowa | 17.4 | 79.4 |
24 | Delaware | 17.4 | 78.5 |
25 | Wisconsin | 17.2 | 79.5 |
26 | Nebraska | 16.6 | 79.6 |
27 | New Hampshire | 16.6 | 79.7 |
28 | Georgia | 16.3 | 77.9 |
29 | New Mexico | 15.9 | 78.0 |
30 | Illinois | 15.9 | 79.4 |
31 | Nevada | 15.7 | 78.7 |
32 | Oregon | 15.7 | 79.9 |
33 | Minnesota | 15.5 | 80.9 |
34 | Rhode Island | 15.2 | 79.8 |
35 | Virginia | 15.1 | 79.6 |
36 | Idaho | 15.0 | 79.4 |
37 | Florida | 14.9 | 80.2 |
38 | Colorado | 14.7 | 80.6 |
39 | Vermont | 14.7 | 79.8 |
40 | Arizona | 14.5 | 80.0 |
41 | Hawaii | 14.4 | 82.3 |
42 | Texas | 14.2 | 79.2 |
43 | Massachusetts | 13.7 | 80.6 |
44 | New Jersey | 13.2 | 80.5 |
45 | New York | 13.0 | 81.4 |
46 | Maryland | 12.6 | 79.2 |
47 | Connecticut | 12.5 | 80.9 |
48 | Washington | 12.1 | 80.4 |
49 | California | 11.5 | 81.7 |
50 | Utah | 9.1 | 80.1 |
The flip side of the coin: https://www.jpost.com/health-science/more-studies-point-to-nicotine-as-a-potential-therapeutic-for-covid-19-630576
A study out of Japan reached similar results.
The study mentioned by Mr. Whitlow has not been peer-reviewed nor replicated, and it is correlative, not causative. It might just be that the stench of smoking and smokers is keeping other people far enough away that smokers are less likely to encounter the virus. As it stands now, “Smoking helps me to not get Covid and keeps me out of the hospital if I do get it,” is more of a rationalization to keep smoking than it is to avoid the virus.
With our Governor fighting hard so that we can keep our freedom and our rights to make our own decisions concerning our bodies, I don’t like where this is going. Our corrupt Government are trying daily to take all our rights away now. I was born in Florida and I will stand up against any local or federal government trying to take my freedom from me and my family.