Report: Fewer Alaskans are smoking

Fewer Alaskans are smoking these days. That’s the word from the recently released update on tobacco use in Alaska.
The annual “Alaska Tobacco Facts” update is produced by the Tobacco Prevention and Control Program, which is part of the Alaska Department of Health and Social Services. The report introduction says the document is designed to be a “brief, annual update of key indicators from state data sources” and that it can be used to educate Alaskans “about the toll that tobacco continues to take on the health and well-being of our citizens.”

Statistics cited in the report are measured from the year of 1996, before two key events: the tobacco tax increase in 1997 and Alaska’s decision to join in the national multi-state Tobacco Master Settlement Agreement in 1998.
Here are some of the key findings, taken from the report’s summary page:
• Per adult cigarette consumption declined 55 percent from state fiscal year 1996 to fiscal year 2011; 433 million fewer cigarettes were sold in 2011 compared to 1996.
• In 2011, tobacco use cost Alaska $327 million in direct medical expenditures and an additional $236 million in lost productivity because of tobacco-related deaths.
• The percentage of adult smokers in Alaska has declined by 18 percent since 1996 to 22.6 percent in 2011, a statistically significant decrease.
• About 1 in 3 (36 percent) Alaska Native adults smoke, compared to 1 in 5 (20 percent) non-Native adults.
• Among non-Native adults age 25 to 64, about 2 in 5 (38 percent) of those in the low socioeconomic status group are smokers, compared to 15 percent among higher socioeconomic status.
• The majority of Alaska adults who smoke want to quit; nearly 3 in 5 smokers tried to quit in the last 12 months.
• Smoking among high school students has declined more than 60 percent, from 37 percent in 1995 to 14 percent in 2011.
• Alaska Native high school students — both boys and girls — are significantly more likely to smoke than students from other race groups, although the gap has decreased considerably since 2003.
• Secondhand smoke exposure has decreased significantly among children at home, and among high school students at home and other indoor spaces, but 1 in 3 high school students are still regularly exposed to secondhand smoke.
• Among those who work primarily indoors, men and low socioeconomic status non-Native adults age 25 to 64 are significantly less likely to be protected by a clean indoor air policy and are more likely to be exposed to tobacco smoke at work.
• Nearly 9 in 10 Alaska adults (87 percent) agree that people should be protected from secondhand smoke. Support is high even among smokers; more than 3 in 4 smokers (77 percent) agree that people should be protected from secondhand smoke.