CDC Vital Signs provides the most recent data on key indicators of important health topics. Data is generated from CDC's national surveillance systems in order to inform the public about progress in key areas of public health and ways they can promote their own health and prevent or control disease. Each Vital Signs tracks recent progress in improving population health for one of 12 key diseases, conditions, or risk factors. Progress can be tracked from year to year, and the same health topics will appear the same month each year.

The Vital Signs program focuses on cancer prevention, obesity, tobacco use, alcohol use, access to healthcare, HIV/AIDS, motor vehicle passenger safety, healthcare-associated infections, cardiovascular health, teen pregnancy, infant mortality, asthma, and food safety. The program has several parts: (1) a Vital Signs MMWR the first Tuesday of every month; (2) Vital Signs Fact Sheet for consumer audiences and a dedicated website that mirrors the Fact Sheet; (3) media release; (4) announcements via social media tools (Twitter, Facebook, etc.); and, 5) wide dissemination of the information to state and local partners.

The CDC Vital Signs for September is on adult smoking rates and exposure to secondhand smoke in the U.S.

Smoking

The MMWR, fact sheet, and all other Vital Signs materials work together to communicate that—

• The burden of cigarette smoking continues to be high, particularly in certain groups in the U.S.
• Although U.S. smoking rates have dropped in the past 30 years, very little has changed in the past 5 years.

In 1965, more than 40% of adults in the United States smoked cigarettes. Although that number dropped dramatically to 20.9% by 2005, in 2009, about 20.6% of U.S. adults (46.6 million people) still smoked cigarettes, and some groups smoke more. For example, more men (nearly 24%) than women (about 18%) smoke. Nearly 30% of adults of mixed races and 23% of American Indian/Alaska Native adults smoke cigarettes. About 31% of people living below the poverty level smoke cigarettes.

Secondhand Smoke

CDC Vital Signs reports that—

• Even brief exposure to secondhand smoke can be harmful to health.
• 88 million nonsmokers—and an especially high percentage of children—continue to be exposed to secondhand smoke, despite the dangers.
• While secondhand smoke exposure in the U.S. has fallen substantially over the last 20 years, more needs to be done to continue this decline.

Secondhand smoke is a mixture of gases and fine particles that includes smoke from a burning cigarette, cigar, or pipe and smoke that has been exhaled by the person smoking. When a nonsmoker breathes secondhand smoke, the body begins to break down (i.e., metabolize) the nicotine in the smoke. During this process, a nicotine byproduct called cotinine is produced. Secondhand smoke exposure can be measured by testing saliva, urine, or blood for cotinine.

From 1988–1991, around 88% of nonsmokers in the United States were exposed to secondhand smoke. However, after a growing number of smoking bans in work and public places and public health efforts to reduce smoking in homes, that number dropped to about 53% by 1999–2000. During 2007–2008, about 4 out of 10 people, or 40% nonsmokers were exposed to secondhand smoke.

Secondhand smoke causes heart disease and lung cancer in adults who do not smoke, and it causes a number of health conditions in children, including sudden infant death syndrome (SIDS), middle ear problems, more severe asthma, and respiratory infections. About 54% of children (aged 3-11 years) are exposed to secondhand smoke.

Both reports show that more efforts are needed to reduce smoking and secondhand smoke exposure in the United States, particularly in groups who smoke more and/or those with more exposure to secondhand smoke.

Call to Action

The tobacco-related issue of CDC Vital Signs includes direct calls to action for—

• Tobacco users to quit and to never smoke in the home, vehicles, or around nonsmokers (especially children and persons with heart disease or respiratory conditions).
• Parents and nonsmokers to never allow others to smoke in their homes or vehicles and to teach children about the harmful health effects of smoking and exposure to secondhand smoke.
• Employers to establish smoke-free policies and to provide employees with health insurance coverage that covers help in quitting.
• Healthcare providers to advise and help patients—and parents of pediatric patients—quit tobacco use, to tell all patients and parents to make their homes and vehicles 100% smoke-free, and to advise nonsmokers to avoid being exposed to secondhand smoke, especially if they have heart disease or respiratory conditions.
• State and community leaders to use the World Health Organization's MPOWER strategies to prevent and control tobacco use; to reduce tobacco use by making tobacco products less accessible, affordable, desirable, and accepted; and to ensure that nonsmokers are protected from exposure to secondhand smoke in workplaces and public places.

Support in Quitting

For support in quitting, including free quit coaching, free educational materials, and referrals to local resources, call 1-800-QUIT-NOW (1-800-784-8669; TTY 1-800-332-8615).

Also, www.smokefree.gov provides an online step-by-step guide to quitting; quitline information; an instant messaging service; and resources that can be downloaded, printed, or ordered.

from cdc