State-Specific Smoking-Attributable Mortality and Years of Potential Life Lost—United States, 2000–2004

January 23, 2009 / Vol. 58 / No. 2

MMWR Introduction

During 2000–2004, the rate of deaths per 100,000 people caused by cigarette smoking varied substantially across the 50 states and the District of Columbia, from 370 in Kentucky to 138 in Utah. These most recent smoking-attributable mortality estimates indicate that cigarette smoking continues to impose a substantial health burden on U.S. adults in all states and particularly in those states with a history of higher smoking rates.