The prevalence of tobacco use among Alaska adults.

The Alaska Division of Public Health monitors the prevalence of smoking and other tobacco use among Alaska adults through the Alaska Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System, a telephone survey performed in cooperation with the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). A total of approximately 1530 interviews are completed each year in Alaska by specially trained interviewers. The prevalence of smoking among Alaska adults in 1994 (28.9%) was second highest in the U.S. Alaska Natives have higher smoking rates (42.9%). Overall, smoking rates have declined in the last three decades nationally. However, in recent years, little change has been found in the prevalence of smoking among adults. Alaska's rate of smokeless tobacco use has also been higher than the national rate of use. The majority of Alaska smokers (83.7%) began smoking between 10 and 20 years of age. In 1994, an estimated 121,000 Alaska adults aged 18 and older were current smokers.