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Adult, Youth Smoking And Tobacco Use Rates Down

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A recent survey found fewer adults smoking, but a health worker says there's more work to be done.

The survey by the Centers For Disease Control and Prevention found 18 percent of Wisconsin adults lighting up. That's  down from 20 percent in it's survey from two years ago and consistent with a national figure of 17.9 percent.

The Coordinator For the Northwoods Tobacco-Free Coalition, Corie Zelazoski,  says cutting the adult smoking rate is a success, but there are still certain groups of people with higher-than-normal smoking numbers...

".....because there are still some groups that have a high rate of smoking. The survey found that 33% of Wisconsin residents who are low income or have less than a high school degree still smoke..."

Zelazoski  says the access to tobacco for  young people is also declining....

"....youth access to tobacco products has also declined in the state. Sales of tobacco to underage youth has declined in 2014 to 6.4 percent which is down from 7.3 percent in 2013. We credit this to responsible retailers and resources for that decline...."

 The study also found that the use of e-cigarettes by Wisconsin high school students was 75 percent  higher than the national average.

Resources are available for Wisconsin residents who want to quit tobacco, including the Wisconsin Tobacco Quit Line at 1-800 QUIT NOW, which offers free help and medications. Since 2001, the Quit Line has fielded more than 200,000 calls.

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