Many with chronic health conditions continue to smoke - Letters - Letter to the Editor

AORN Journal, March, 2003

According to a Dec 23, 2002, news release from the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ), data from late 2000 and early 2001 show that many people with chronic health conditions continue to smoke, including

* 37.9% who have emphysema,

* 24.8% who have asthma,

* 20% who have hypertension or cardiovascular problems, and

* 18.5% who have diabetes.

Three out of five people with these conditions reported that a physician had advised them to quit smoking within in the past year.

Other data from the AHRQ survey indicate that

* 23.1% of people older than 18 years of age smoke,

* people who have less than a high school education are more than twice as likely to be smokers than those who have some post high school education (ie, 32.8% compared to 15.8%), and

* only 16.8% of Hispanics smoke compared to nearly 24% of people from other racial and ethnic groups.

New AHRQ Data Indicate that People With Chronic Conditions Continue to Smoke (news release, Rockville, Md: Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality, Dec 23, 2002).