Indiana ranks 10th in the U.S. for the number of adults who smoke at 19.20% of the population, according to a report from NiceRx in August. Based on research done in 2019, Indiana ranked 13 in highest number of smoking-related deaths in the U.S.
NiceRx is a pharmaceutical company in Florida that provides access to assistance programs, ongoing refill medications and research on health-related issues such as smoking and insurance.
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West Virginia is the 12th least populated state, but it still has the highest smoking rate this year at 23.8%. It also had the highest number of annual deaths from smoking per 100,000 people in 2019.
NiceRx said, according to the World Health Organization, in 2020, 480,000 deaths in the United States each year were caused by smoking.
In 2020, 22.3% of the global population used tobacco, according to the World Health Organization. Nicotine, a chemical in tobacco and therefore cigarettes, creates a “sense of relaxation” which reduces stress even at the risk of addiction, according to NiceRx’s report.
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However, tobacco is one of the biggest causes of preventable deaths in the world, according to the report. It kills over eight million people across the world every year and leads to health issues like an increased risk of stroke, cancer and heart diseases.
This research was based on information in the World Population Review Country ranking and the World Population U.S. State ranking. NiceRx also calculated global deaths caused by smoking through Our World in Data. For the U.S. data, the study referenced Tobacco Free Kids, a source that provided information on the annual deaths per state.
