Any tobacco use in 13 States --- behavioral risk factor surveillance system, 2008.

Tobacco use is the leading cause of preventable death in the United States, and cigarette smoking, the predominant form of tobacco use in the United States, causes 443,000 deaths annually. In 2008, 20.6% of U.S. adults were current smokers; however, other tobacco products (e.g., smokeless tobacco, cigars, bidis, and kreteks) also were used by some adults and youths. Persons who use cigarettes in combination with other tobacco products (polytobacco use) might have an in increased risk for adverse health effects. To estimate the prevalence of any tobacco and polytobacco use, CDC analyzed data from the 2008 Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System (BRFSS) (the most recent data available) module on use of other tobacco products, which was implemented by 13 states. This analysis found that use of any tobacco product ranged from 18.4% (New Jersey) to 35.0% (West Virginia), cigarette use ranged from 14.6% (New Jersey) to 26.6% (West Virginia), and polytobacco use ranged from 1.0% (New Jersey) to 3.7% (West Virginia). Polytobacco use was more prevalent among men (4.4%), persons aged 18--24 years (5.7%), persons who were single (4.8%), persons with household incomes less than $35,000 (9.8%), and persons with less than a high school education (3.6%) or with a high school diploma or General Education Development (GED) certificate or diploma (3.6%). Because no form of tobacco is safe to use, prevention and cessation intervention programs need to address all forms of tobacco use to lower tobacco-related morbidity and mortality in the United States. Additionally, counter-marketing messages for tobacco products can be tailored for specific populations, such as young adults and males.