Introduction: Recent tobacco prevention and cessation activities have focused on nonsmoking ordinances and behavioral changes, and in Kansas, the overall prevalence of cigarette smoking among adults has decreased. The objective of this study was to determine whether overall cigarette consumption (mean annual number of cigarettes smoked) in Kansas also decreased.
Methods: Data on cigarette smoking prevalence for 91,465 adult Kansans were obtained from the Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System survey for 1999 through 2010. Data on annual cigarette consumption were obtained from the 2002 and 2006 Kansas Adult Tobacco Survey and analyzed by totals, by sex, and by smoking some days or smoking every day. Linear regression was used to evaluate rate changes over time.
Results: Among men, but not women, cigarette smoking prevalence decreased significantly over time. The prevalence of smoking every day decreased significantly among both men and women, whereas the prevalence of smoking on some days increased significantly for women but not men. For current smokers, the mean annual number of cigarettes consumed remained the same.
Conclusion: The decline in overall smoking prevalence coupled with the lack of change in mean annual cigarette consumption may have resulted in a more intense exposure to cigarettes for the smoking population. The significant increase in some day use among women indicates a need for additional prevention and education activities; the impact on future lung cancer incidence rates needs further investigation.