smoking

14 Million US Adults Suffer From Smoking-Related Conditions

In the United States, more than 14 million cases of serious medical conditions can be attributed to smoking, according to a recent study.

“Tobacco control has been called one of the most important health triumphs of the past 50 years. Yet, although we have come a long way, there is still much more to be done, with the number of smokers worldwide now just short of 1 billion people,” said Steven A. Schroeder, MD, professor of medicine at the University of California, San Francisco, and author of a related commentary.
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In order to better determine the number of cases of smoking-attributed illnesses affecting US adults, researchers analyzed data from the US Census Bureau in 2009, the National Health Interview Survey data from 2006 through 2012, and data from the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey.

The results showed that:

  • 6.9 million US adults had a combined 10.9 million self-reported smoking-attributable medical condition (National Health Interview Survey)
  • US adults had a combined 14 million smoking-attributable conditions in 2009 (National Health and Nutrition Examination Study)
  • 7.5 million cases of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) were attributed to smoking (National Health and Nutrition Examination Study); this number is 70% higher than estimated cases based on self-reported prevalence data

The complete study is published in the October issue of JAMA Internal Medicine.

-Michelle Canales

References:
1. Rostron BL, Chang CM, Pechacek TF. Estimation of cigarette smoking-attributable morbidity in the United States. JAMA Intern Med. 2014 October [epub ahead of print] doi: 10.1001/jamainternmed.2014.5219.

2. Schroeder SA. Even more illness caused by smoking than previously estimated. JAMA Intern Med. 2014 October [epub ahead of print] doi: 10.1001/jamainternmed.2014.4297.

3. JAMA Network. Study estimates 14 million smoking-attributable major medical conditions in U.S. October 13, 2014. http://media.jamanetwork.com/news-item/study-estimates-14-million-smoking-attributable-major-medical-conditions-in-u-s/.  Accessed October 14, 2014.