Adult Smoking in Delaware: 2002
Adult Smoking in Delaware
| % | Adult Smoking-Related Behavior (or Knowledge) |
|---|---|
| 24.6% | Percent of adult Delawareans (age 18 and older) who are current cigarette smokers. |
| 19.5% | Percent of adult Delawareans who smoke cigarettes daily. |
| 5.1% | Percent of adult Delawareans who smoke some days, but not every day. This has increased from 2.3% in 1995. |
| 26.3% | Percent of adult Delawareans who are former smokers. |
| 49% | Percent of adult Delawareans who never smoked. |
| 25.3% | Percent of adult male smokers in Delaware. |
| 24.1% | Percent of adult female smokers in Delaware. |
| 25.6% | Percent of white, non-Hispanic adult smokers in Delaware. |
| 25.6% | Percent of African American or black adult smokers in Delaware. |
| 36% | Percent of 18-24 year-old smokers in Delaware in 2002. This age group has the highest smoking prevalence, and the trend was increasing from 1990 through 1999. 23.7% of this group are everyday smokers; and 12.3% are “some days” smokers. |
| 79.3% | Percent of adult smokers who report their doctor or health care provider advised them to quit smoking within the past year (up significantly from 47.7% in 2000, and 69.7% in 2001). |
| 23% | National median smoking prevalence among all 50 states, District of Columbia, and three territories. |
| 8% | Percent of smokers who started smoking regularly at age 13 or younger. 30% say they took their first puffs before age 13. |
| 91% | Percent of smokers who started smoking regularly before they were 25 years old. |
| 8.4% | Percent of former smokers who quit during the past year. |
| 26.1% | Percent of former smokers who quit during past five years (includes those listed above who quit in the past year). |
| 68% | Percent of Delaware adults who say they do not allow smoking anywhere in their homes (up from 44.6% in 2001). 12.3% allow smoking in parts of the house; 5.4% allow smoking anywhere in their homes; and 14.3% have no rules. |
| 86% | Percent of Delaware adults who report their place of work does not allow smoking in any indoor public area (up from 79.3% in 2001). Note: Delaware’s revised Clean Indoor Air Act, prohibiting smoking in all indoor public areas, became effective in November 2002. |
| 91.2% | Percent of Delaware adults who work indoors who report that their workplace policy does not allow smoking in any work area (up from 87.7% in 2001). |
County breakdowns for 2002
| Behavior | State | Kent | New Castle | Sussex |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Smoke Every Day | 19.5% | 23.0% | 18.7% | 19.1% |
| Smoke Some Days | 5.1% | 4.7% | 5.3% | 4.8% |
Source: Delaware Health and Social Services, Division of Public Health, Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System (BRFSS), 2002.
