Tobacco use, particularly cigarette smoking, is the leading preventable cause of death in the United States. It is critical to monitor tobacco use. In fact, tobacco use is one of Healthy People 2010's TEN Leading Health Indicators that reflect the major health concerns in the United States.
There are numerous sources that provide both national and state level data for prevalence of tobacco use. MDQuit has compiled a comprehensive list of information, presented separately for Adults and Adolescents:
• Maryland Department of Health Reports
MDQuit has also created the following step-by-step manual for using Maryland's Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System (BRFSS) databases to answer a variety of questions regarding adult tobacco use:
Updated national and state-level youth and adult tobacco use data can also be found on the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) website.