Community Data
Cigarette Smoking
Quick Facts:
- In 2020, over 30 million Americans currently smoked cigarettes.
- In the US, men are more likely to smoke cigarettes than women.
- Smoking cigarettes accounts for about 20% of deaths in the US every year.
- Since 2005, current smoking in the US has decreased from about 21% to about 12.5% in 2020.
Why does smoking matter to health?
Cigarette smoking causes harm to almost all organs in the body, can lead to many chronic diseases and can lead to poor health. It causes over 450,000 deaths in the United States every year, and increases your risk of developing heart disease, stroke, and lung cancer. In women, it can also make it difficult to become pregnant and affect the baby’s health before and after birth. One of the most important actions that a person can take to improve their health is to quit smoking. The benefits to quitting smoking start just minutes after smoking your last cigarette and these positive changes continue for years. For more information on how to quit smoking or for support, talk to your doctor, click here or call 1-800-QUIT-NOW (1-800-784-8669).
Smoking in Our Community
Darker colors on the interactive maps indicate worse outcomes.
In 2018, approximately 17.1% of Taylor County adults were current smokers. This was higher than the estimated 13.5% of Texan adults who were current smokers in 2018. By 2019 in Taylor County, the percentage of adult smokers decreased slightly to approximately 16%. This was still higher than the state estimation of 14.7% in 2019. The Taylor County zip codes with the highest percentage of adults who currently smoked in 2019 were 79563 (21.6%) and 79603 (19.9%). The Taylor County zip codes with the lowest percentage of adults who smoked in 2019 were 79530 (14.3%), 79566 (15.2%), and 79606 (15.3%).
Click for Data Sources
- National Center for Chronic Disease Prevention and Health Promotion. (2022, March 17). Fast Facts and Fact Sheets. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Accessed June 28, 2022 from https://www.cdc.gov/tobacco/data_statistics/fact_sheets/index.htm
- National Center for Chronic Disease Prevention and Health Promotion. (2022, March 17). Current Cigarette Smoking Among Adults in the United States. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Accessed June 28, 2022 from https://www.cdc.gov/tobacco/data_statistics/fact_sheets/adult_data/cig_smoking/index.htm
- Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, National Center for Chronic Disease Prevention and Health Promotion, Division of Population Health. BRFSS Prevalence & Trends Data [online]. 2015. [accessed June 28, 2022]. URL: https://www.cdc.gov/brfss/brfssprevalence/.
- Texas Department of State Health Services. Texas Health Data: Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System (BRFSS). Accessed June 28, 2022 from https://healthdata.dshs.texas.gov/dashboard/surveys-and-profiles/behavioral-risk-factor-surveillance-system
- National Center for Chronic Disease Prevention and Health Promotion. (2021, October 29). Health Effects of Cigarette Smoking. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Accessed June 29, 2022 from https://www.cdc.gov/tobacco/data_statistics/fact_sheets/health_effects/effects_cig_smoking/index.htm
- National Center for Chronic Disease Prevention and Health Promotion. (2020, September 23). Benefits of Quitting. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Accessed June 29, 2022 from https://www.cdc.gov/tobacco/quit_smoking/how_to_quit/benefits/index.htm
- CDC, National Center for Chronic Disease Prevention and Health Promotion, Division of Population Health. PLACES: County Data (GIS Friendly), 2021 release. https://chronicdata.cdc.gov/500-Cities-Places/PLACES-County-Data-GIS-Friendly-Format-2021-releas/i46a-9kgh
- CDC, National Center for Chronic Disease Prevention and Health Promotion, Division of Population Health. PLACES: County Data (GIS Friendly), 2020 release. https://chronicdata.cdc.gov/500-Cities-Places/PLACES-County-Data-GIS-Friendly-Format-2020-releas/mssc-ksj7
- CDC, National Center for Chronic Disease Prevention and Health Promotion, Division of Population Health. PLACES: ZCTA Data (GIS Friendly), 2021 release. https://chronicdata.cdc.gov/500-Cities-Places/PLACES-ZCTA-Data-GIS-Friendly-Format-2021-release/kee5-23sr
