How Many People With Asthma Smoke? State Estimates From 2010

These figures come from the 2010 Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System.

Cigarette smoke is known to trigger asthma attacks, yet in 2010 people with asthma were more likely to smoke than people without it: about 21.0% of adults with current asthma smoked, compared with 16.8% of adults without asthma.

The share varied widely by state, from about 12% in Minnesota and Utah (11.8% in each) to about 32% in Kentucky (32.3%). The states with the highest rates were clustered in the Midwest and the South.

State by state

People counted as having asthma answered yes both to "Have you ever been told by a doctor, nurse, or other health professional that you had asthma?" and to "Do you still have asthma?" The U.S. total covers the 50 states and the District of Columbia.

Estimates are marked unreliable when fewer than 50 people answered or the relative standard error was above 0.30.

About the program

CDC's National Asthma Control Program, created in 1999, works to help the millions of Americans with asthma gain control of it. It tracks asthma nationally and funds states to improve their own tracking and to direct effort and resources where they are needed.

Sources

• Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, AsthmaStats, "Percentage of People with Asthma who Smoke." https://www.cdc.gov/asthma/asthma_stats/people_who_smoke.htm
• Data: Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System, 2010. AsthmaStats fact sheet: https://www.cdc.gov/asthma/asthma_stats/asthma_stats_factsheet.pdf