WASHINGTON, Sept. 6, 2011 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Adult smoking rates are trending downward as more Americans stop and prevent addictive behaviors that significantly increase their risk for heart disease and stroke. This is encouraging news as we face mounting challenges from the tobacco industry to block regulations intended to educate consumers about the health hazards associated with smoking. Currently, about one-third of the estimated 443,000 premature deaths each year due to smoking are linked to cardiovascular disease.
According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's article, Vital Signs: Current Cigarette Smoking Among Adults Aged ≥ 18 Years—United States, 2005–2010, smoking prevalence among adults decreased from 20.9 percent to 19.3 percent over a five year span. This demonstrates the effectiveness of strong public policies and education campaigns in eliminating tobacco use throughout the country. However, disparities remain among age, income level, education, ethnicity and geography, indicating more decisive action is needed among elected officials to protect all Americans from the tobacco industry's destructive force.
With smoking rates particularly high among some ethnic groups and low-income Americans, population-based prevention strategies and federal regulations are critical to weaken tobacco's deadly hold on many communities. Smoke-free policies, comprehensive smoking cessation programs and other clinical interventions combined with strong enforcement of federal regulations will further reduce rates in regions that continue to struggle with cardiovascular disease and soaring health care costs linked to tobacco use. For more information, visit www.heart.org.
To view the full report, visit www.cdc.gov/mmwr.
The American Heart Association logo is available at http://www.globenewswire.com/newsroom/prs/?pkgid=9940