The adult smoking rate in Indiana has dropped significantly in the last decade. According to new data from the 2010 Behavior Risk Factor Surveillance System, the smoking rate in Indiana has decreased by 23% dropping from 27.4% to 21.2% from 2001 to 2010.
Karla Sneegas, Assistant Commissioner for Tobacco Prevention and Cessation at the Indiana State Department of Health, attributes the drop rate to a major key factor.
"Hard work," she said, "persistent hard work. We've had a real commitment to doing what the best practice tells us from research we've should be focusing on. We've been doing a lot of hard hitting public education over the past 10 years."
She says the health department has been working with Indiana communities, funding grants to do tobacco control programs that really make a difference. It also works with city government for smoke free air policies and on similar policies for hospital grounds and schools.
Sneegas says all the efforts is what led to this positive outcome.
"It's really the combination of the community programs plus the community programs," she said, "plus letting smokers know that they have the resources that are there to help them when they're ready to try to quit."
Sneegas says one resource is the tobacco quit line, 1-800-Quit-Now which is free and confidential to all Indiana Residents.