14 DAY TRIAL // The results of a new scientific survey on smoking habits in California and the United States show that the number of heavy smokers has declined dramatically since 1965. For the purpose of this poll, heavy smoking was defined as lighting up more than 20 cigarettes per day.
This investigation was primarily conducted in California, but the rates are consistent throughout the United States. Details of the study appear in the March 16 issue of the esteemed Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA).
Some 45 years ago, heavy smokers made up about 65 percent of the total numbers of smokers in the Sunshine State, but that proportion was heavily reduced to only 23 percent when the poll was conducted. This equals 2.6 percent of the entire population.
This study was conducted by experts with the University of California in San Diego (UCSD), who also determined that the nationwide proportion of heavy smokers dropped to 40 percent, or around 7.2 percent of the general population.
These findings account for the lower incidence of lung cancer cases that was recorded in the US lately. In the specific case of California, these rates are even lower than the national average, the team says.
“Gone are the days when the average smoker had a pack-a-day habit. We’ve seen a steady decrease in the number of young smokers who reach that dependence level as well as an increased number of smokers who quit,” says John P. Pierce, PhD.
The expert is the Sam M. Walton Professor of Cancer Research in the Department of Family and Preventive Medicine at the UCSD School of Medicine, PsychCentral reports.
“There are a number of reasons why the decline in heavy smokers has been greater in California than in the rest of the nation,” Pierce goes on to say.
“California was the first state to aggressively raise its cigarette tax in 1968 and from 1968-2007, the price of cigarettes was higher in California than the average for the rest of the nation,” he explains.
“California was also the first state to introduce an ongoing, well-funded comprehensive tobacco control program which has been in place since 1989,” the expert adds. This study was conducted by analyzing all major researches on the issue that were conducted in California and the US since 1965.
“Our research indicates that fewer than 10 percent of young Californians and fewer than 20 percent of young residents in the rest of the nation will ever reach even half a pack per day, and lung cancer rates should continue to drop at a faster rate in California over the next 15 years,” Pierce concludes.