Smoking rate declines in Grant County

by Chrystal Doucette<br>Herald Staff Writer
| September 5, 2006 9:00 PM

Local numbers still higher than Washington average

GRANT COUNTY — Twenty-percent of Grant County residents were smoking in 2005, which is 4 percent higher than the state average, according the Washington State Department of Health.

Information on how many people were smoking in 2005 was released by the department of health Aug. 30.

Gov. Christine Gregoire announced the smoking rate in Washington dropped from 22. 4 percent of the population smoking in 1999 to 17.8 percent in 2005, giving it the fifth lowest smoking rate in the nation. The state reported 205,000 less smokers from 2000 to 2005.

Grant County Health Officer Alexander Brzezny said the smoking rate in Grant County went down 1 percent from 2004 to 2005. The number of people in the county who called the county's quit line went up from 110 callers to 179 callers.

"That is a considerable increase in how many people were calling the quit line," Brzezny said.

Although the overall smoking rate in the county declined, the number in the county who smoked during pregnancy increased from 9.2 percent in 2004 to 10.1 percent in 2005. The number continues to increase, he said. Statewide, the number of women who smoked during pregnancy was slightly higher than the county, at 10.2 percent.

The Department of Health reported 130 infants are born each year in the county to mothers who smoke while pregnant.

"We know that smoking during the pregnancy continues to be the biggest difficulty in general," Brzezny said.

The number of 12th grade students who reported they used cigarettes in 2005 was 19.1 percent in Grant County, slightly less than the state average of 19.7 percent. The number of eighth grade students who said they used cigarettes was 10.4 percent in Grant County, about 2 percent higher than the state average of 7.8 percent.

The smoking rate in Adams County was third lowest in the state for 2005 at 12.8 percent.

In Douglas County the smoking rate was 20.4 percent in 2005, with 27.7 percent of 12th grade students reporting they used cigarettes.