The states with the highest smoking rates are mostly located in the Southern United States. On April 1st, the federal excise tax on a pack of cigarettes was raised from the 39 cents to $1.01 per-pack. This tax will exert a larger toll among the states listed below.  

In 2006, the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) and the Office on Smoking and Health released a report ranking states by smoking prevalence. The goal of this report was to highlight the importance of tobacco control programs and to encourage smoking cessation. For the purposes of this report, current smokers were defined as adults who had smoked at least 100 cigarettes and who currently smoked every day or some days.  The latest data available are from 2004 and states were ranked in ascending order, meaning that the state ranked 50th had the highest smoking prevalence rate.

The top 10 states ranked in order of highest smoking prevalence are:

1.    Kentucky (ranked 50th out of 50)
2.    West Virginia (49)
3.    Tennessee (47)
4.    Oklahoma (47)
5.    Ohio (46)
6.    Arkansas (45)
7.    Indiana (44)
8.    Alabama (42)
9.    Alaska (42)
10.  Mississippi (41)

Have a good tip for quitting smoking or looking for help? Join Healia's support group for quitting smoking.

Source:  CDC, Sustaining State Programs for Tobacco Control Data Highlights 2006.


_{Photo: Qfamily, Flickr, Creative Commons}

In its 2009 Alzheimer’s Disease Facts and Figures report released this week, the Alzheimer’s Association notes that Alzheimer’s disease is now the sixth leading cause of death in the United States. The report also points out that deaths from the disease are expected to rise precipitously in the next 15 years as the Baby Boom generation reaches their 70s. Deaths attributed to Alzheimer’s disease increased 47.1 percent from 2000 to 2006, while deaths attributed to heart disease, the leading cause of death for both men and women in the U.S., declined by 11.5 percent in that time.

The report also includes data on Alzheimer’s disease deaths in each state. Below is a list of the top 10 states with the lowest rate of deaths attributed to Alzheimer’s disease; the age-adjusted death rates per 100,000 state residents are shown in parentheses. Age-adjusted rates account for the effect of age disparities in the populations being examined, which allows for reliable comparisons among states. For example, Florida has a large number of elderly residents, and, without any rate adjustments, would have a much higher Alzheimer’s death rate than a state with a younger average population; age-adjusted rates remove this effect.

The top 10 states with the lowest rates of Alzheimer’s disease deaths are:

1. New York (age-adjusted death rate per 100,000 = 9.2)
2. Hawaii (11.4)
3. Connecticut (16.1)
4. Nevada (17.1)
5. Maryland (17.5)
6. New Jersey (17.6)
7. New Mexico (18.3)
8. Florida (18.4)
9. Rhode Island (18.8)
10. Pennsylvania (18.9)

If you would like to learn more about Alzheimer’s disease, read the Healia Health Guide to Alzheimer’s Disease. To share your experiences with Alzheimer’s or as a caregiver of an Alzheimer’s patient, join the Healia Support Group for Alzheimer’s Disease.

Related blog post: Top 10 States for Alzheimer’s Disease Deaths

 

_{Source: Alzheimer’s Association, 2009 Alzheimer’s Disease Facts and Figures, 3/09. http://www.alz.org/national/documents/report_alzfactsfigures2009.pdf}

_{Photo: without you., Flickr, Creative Commons}

The Alzheimer’s Association today released a report entitled 2009 Alzheimer’s Disease Facts and Figures which includes information on the prevalence and cost of this devastating brain disease. The report notes that Alzheimer’s disease is now the sixth leading cause of death in the United States, and points out that deaths from the disease are expected to rise precipitously in the next 15 years as the Baby Boom generation reaches their 70s. Deaths attributed to Alzheimer’s disease increased 47.1 percent from 2000 to 2006, while deaths attributed to heart disease, the leading cause of death for both men and women in the U.S., declined by 11.5 percent in that time.

The report also includes data on Alzheimer’s disease deaths in each state. Below is a list of top 10 states for deaths attributed to Alzheimer’s disease, with the age-adjusted rates per 100,000 state residents shown in parentheses. Age-adjusted rates account for the effect of age disparities in the populations being examined, which allows for reliable comparisons among states. For example, Florida has a large number of elderly residents, and, without any rate adjustments, would have a much higher Alzheimer’s death rate than a state with a younger average population; age-adjusted rates remove this effect.

The top 10 states with the highest rates of Alzheimer’s disease deaths are:

1. Tennessee (age-adjusted death rate per 100,000 = 36.2)
2. Washington (35.9)
3. Louisiana (34.2)
4. Alabama (33.2)
5. South Carolina (32.4)
6. Arizona (31.3)
7. N Dakota (29.8)
8. N Carolina (29.5)
9. Idaho (29.4)
10. Maine (29.1)

If you would like to learn more about Alzheimer’s disease, read the Healia Health Guide to Alzheimer’s Disease. To share your experiences with Alzheimer’s or as a caregiver of an Alzheimer’s patient, join the Healia Support Group for Alzheimer’s Disease.

_{Source: Alzheimer’s Association, 2009 Alzheimer’s Disease Facts and Figures, 3/09. http://www.alz.org/national/documents/report_alzfactsfigures2009.pdf}

_{Photo: *Ann Gordon, Flickr, Creative Commons}

The report Shortchanging America's Health: A State-By-State Look at How Federal Public Health Dollars are Spent was released this week by the non-profit organizations Trust for America's Health (TFAH) and the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation (RWJF). It outlines federal government funding for disease prevention programs provided to the fifty states in fiscal year 2008.

The report found that annual per capita spending varies widely among the states (ranging from $12.74 and $52.78 per person). The national average for state funding from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) for public health is $17.60 per person. The report notes that even at the high end, this level of spending on public health is a tiny fraction of the country's total investment in health. The vast majority of heath spending is invested in treating people after they've become sick. The report authors suggest that spending more money on disease prevention programs up front would lessen the need to spend so much on disease treatment "after the fact."

Below is a list of the bottom 10 states that received the least funding per state resident from the CDC in fiscal year 2008, followed in parentheses by the dollar amount of per capita spending.

The top 10 worst states for federal public health funding per capita are:

• Indiana ($12.74)
• Ohio ($12.76)
• Virginia ($12.88)
• Florida ($13.29)
• Kentucky ($13.94)
• Pennsylvania ($13.99)
• Tennessee ($14.96)
• Wisconsin ($14.97)
• Missouri ($15.14)
• Kansas ($15.14)

Interested in learning more about disease prevention? Join the Healia Support Group for Wellness and Lifestyle.

Related blog post: The Top 10 States for Federal Public Health Funding

 

_{Source: Trust for America’s Health and Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, Shortchanging America's Health: A State-By-State Look at How Federal Public Health Dollars are Spent, 3/09. http://healthyamericans.org/assets/files/shortchanging09.pdf}

_{Photo: ThrasherDave, Flickr, Creative Commons}

The polling group Gallup, the health company Healthways and a national association representing health insurance companies called America’s Health Insurance Plans (AHIP) together developed the Gallup-Healthways Well-Being Index (WBI) to measure America’s relative health, well-being, and prosperity. Launched in 2008, the WBI uses data from a 42 question survey that measures how Americans are faring physically, emotionally, socially, and economically at any given point in time. To date, pollsters have conducted nearly 450,000 interviews, at a rate of about 1,000 surveys per day. The report released today includes an overall composite score for each state and congressional district, as well as sub-index scores in six domains: Life Evaluation, Emotional Health, Physical Health, Healthy Behavior, Work Environment and Basic Access. The survey will be ongoing with annual updates for the next 25 years.

The nation’s overall score on the WBI has declined precipitously over the past year, and some states have been affected more than others. In general, Western states had the highest well-being scores while the lowest scores were mostly in the South. The bottom 10 states for well-being appear below, with the average score for overall well-being (out of 100) following in parentheses. Lower scores mean less overall we-being.

The top 10 states with the worst overall well-being in America are:

1. West Virginia (61.2 /100)
2. Kentucky (61.4)
3. Mississippi (61.9)
4. Ohio (62.8)
5. Arkansas (62.9)
6. Indiana (63.3)
7. Missouri (63.8)
8. Oklahoma (64.0)
9. Tennessee (64.0)
10. Michigan (64.0)

Share your thoughts on the rankings in the Healia Community for Men’s Health or the Healia Community for Women’s Health.

Related blog post: State and Congressional District Well-Being Rankings Released: Top 10 states for well-being in America.

 

_{Source: Gallup, Healthways, and America’s Health Insurance Plans (AHIP), Gallup-Healthways Well-Being Index, 2008 State and Congressional Well-Being Reports, 3/09. http://www.ahiphiwire.org/WellBeing/}

_{Photo: B Rosen, Flikr, Creative Commons}

Pesticides are frequently used to help improve the yield of fruits and vegetables grown both domestically and abroad. While these chemicals do a good job of controlling insect infestation, little is known about the long-term effects of exposure to them. Some data suggest that small doses of pesticides and other chemicals can adversely affect people, especially during fetal development and childhood. In general experts recommend reducing your exposure to pesticides as much as possible.

However, you can’t tell which fruits and vegetables may have a high pesticide load by just looking at them. Thus, in their publication Food News, the not-for-profit Environmental Working Group (EWG) released a list of the most pesticide-laden produce in America. The produce ranking was developed by analysts at the EWG based on the results of nearly 43,000 tests for pesticides on produce collected by the U.S. Department of Agriculture and the U.S. Food and Drug Administration between 2000 and 2004. They calculated a pesticide score based on criteria which included the percent of samples that tested positive for pesticides, the percent of samples with more than one pesticide, the average amount of pesticide found on each type of produce, and the total number of different pesticides found on all samples of a given type of produce. The top 10 worst offenders follow, with their pesticide score listed in parentheses.

The top 10 most pesticide-contaminated fruits and vegetables are:

1. Peaches (100)
2. Apples (96)
3. Sweet Bell Peppers (86)
4. Celery (85)
5. Nectarines (84)
6. Strawberries (83)
7. Cherries (75)
8. Lettuce (69)
9. Grapes – Imported (68)
10. Pears (65)

The EWG suggests washing fruits and vegetables thoroughly to reduce pesticide exposure, but they also note that these test results were largely based on produce that has already been washed. When possible, it is a good idea to eat organic produce that is grown without conventional pesticides, especially for the produce with the highest pesticides scores.

Want to provide your input on about food safety and nutrition? Join the Healia Health Community for Diet and Nutrition and share your views.

_{Source: Environmental Working Group, Food News, Shoppers Guide to Pesticides in Produce. http://www.foodnews.org/fulldataset.php}

_{Photo: theilr, Flickr, Creative Commons}

As allergy season is already underway in many places, today we provide a list of the states that have the best policy record regarding school-based management of asthma and allergies. The Asthma and Allergy Foundation of America (AAFA) created the 2008 State Honor Roll of Asthma and Allergy Policies for Schools to help encourage states to recognize and develop better state-wide school-based policies and practices for students with asthma and allergies.

AAFA researchers identified 18 "core policy standards" related to asthma and allergies policy that are currently in place in states across the U.S. The policy standards formed three broad categories: medication&treatment, awareness, and school environment. The states with the most of these 18 policy standards in place were considered to be states to be at the forefront asthma and allergy school advocacy. Six states with a minimum of 15 out of the 18 policy standards in place were named "Honor Roll" states for their leadership in mandating comprehensive state-wide school policies that address the needs of students with asthma, food allergies, anaphylaxis and other related allergic diseases in primary and secondary schools. These states appear below, followed by the number (out of 18) policy standards they currently have in place. Thirteen other states made honorable mention, having 14 of the 18 policy standards in place, while the remaining 31 states still have some work to do to catch up.

The top 6 "Honor Roll" states for school asthma and allergy policies are:

1. Connecticut (17 of 18 policy standards)
2. New Jersey (17)
3. Vermont (17)
4. Rhode Island (16)
5. Massachusetts (15)
6. Washington (15)

For more information about seasonal allergies, consult the Healia Health Guide to Outdoor Allergies. For information on other types of allergies or asthma, see the Healia Health Guide on Allergies, or the Healia Health Guide to Asthma. Share your own experiences with asthma or allergies in the schools at the Healia Health Community for Asthma or the Healia Health Community for Allergy.

_{Source: Asthma and Allergy Foundation of America, 2008 State Honor Roll of Asthma and Allergy Policies for Schools, 9/08. Available at: http://aafa.org/pdfs/FINALv2_STATE_HONOR_ROLL%20Full%20Report%202008.pdf}

_{Photo: The TruthAbout..., Flickr, Creative Commons}

Walk Score ranks the 40 largest cities in America and the neighborhoods within those cities based on their "walkability." The purpose is to help people find walkable places where it is easy to live a car-free (or car-lite) lifestyle. However, the cities near the bottom of the list are considered not walking-friendly or "car-dependent" meaning there are few destinations that are within walking distance so most trips will require a car or public transportation.

Walk Score calculates the walkability of an address by locating nearby stores, restaurants, schools, parks, etc. and awarding points based on the distance to the closest amenity in each category. It’s not a perfect rating scale, as it does not include weather, public transit, pedestrian-friendly design, topography, beauty of the surroundings, or man-made and natural impediments to walking; it is purely based on the proximity of amenities. Cities are defined as in the 2000 U.S. Census and neighborhood boundaries come from Zillow.com.

The list below includes the cities with the lowest overall walkability scores out of the 40 largest cities in the nation. The walkability score appears in parentheses after each city.

The top 10 least walking-friendly cities in America are:

1. Jacksonville (36)
2. Nashville (39)
3. Charlotte (39)
4. Indianapolis (42)
5. Oklahoma City (43)
6. Memphis (43)
7. Kansas City (44)
8. Fort Worth (45)
9. San Antonio (45)
10. El Paso (45)

For more information on how regular walking can improve your health, join the Healia Health Community for Exercise and Fitness. 

Related blog post: The Top 10 Most Walking-Friendly Cities in America

_{Source: Walk Score. http://www.walkscore.com/rankings/}

Photo: jmd41280, Flickr, Creative Commons

Walking is an enjoyable, cost saving, and environmentally friendly activity that almost anyone can participate in. Walk Score ranks the 40 largest cities in America and the neighborhoods within those cities based on their "walkability." The purpose is to help people find walkable places where it is easy to live a car-free (or car-lite) lifestyle.

Walk Score calculates the walkability of an address by locating nearby stores, restaurants, schools, parks, etc. and awarding points based on the distance to the closest amenity in each category. According to studies, the number of nearby amenities is the leading predictor of whether people walk. If the closest amenity in a given category is within ¼ mile, it gets the maximum points. The number of points awarded declines as the distance to the nearest amenity grows and if it is beyond 1 mile, no points are awarded. Each category is weighted equally and the points are summed and normalized to yield a score from 0–100. Scores above 90 are considered "Walker’s Paradise" meaning you can likely get by without needing to own a car. It’s not a perfect rating scale, as it does not include public transit, pedestrian-friendly design, topography, beauty of the surroundings, or man-made and natural impediments to walking; it is purely based on the proximity of amenities. Cities are defined as in the 2000 U.S. Census and neighborhood boundaries come from Zillow.com.

The list below includes the cities with the highest overall walkability scores followed by the three most walking friendly neighborhoods within each city. The walkalitily score appears in parentheses after each city and each individual neighborhood.

The top 10 most walking-friendly cities in America are:

1. San Francisco (score = 86)
   Neighborhoods: Chinatown (99), Financial District (99), Downtown (98)
   
   
2. New York (83)
   Neighborhoods: Tribeca (100) Little Italy (100), Soho (100)
   
   
3. Boston (79)
   Neighborhoods: Back Bay-Beacon Hill (97), South End (97), Fenway-Kenmore (96)
   
   
4. Chicago (76)
   Neighborhoods: Loop (98), Near North Side (97), Lincoln Park (94)
   
   
5. Philadelphia (74)
   Neighborhoods: City Center East (98), City Center West (98), Riverfront (92)
   
   
6. Seattle (72)
   Neighborhoods: Pioneer Square (99), Downtown (97), First Hill (96)
   
   
7. Washington D.C. (70)
   Neighborhoods: Dupont Circle (99), Logan Circle (98), Downtown (97)
   
   
8. Long Beach (69)
   Neighborhoods: Downtown (87), Belmont Shore (83), Belmont Heights (82)
   
   
9. Los Angeles (67)
   Neighborhoods: Mid City West (92), Downtown (90), Hollywood (89)
   
   
10. Portland (66)
    Neighborhoods: Pearl District (99), Old Town-Chinatown (98), Downtown (96)

For more information on how regular walking can improve your health, join the Healia Health Community for Exercise and Fitness.

_{Source: Walk Score. http://www.walkscore.com/rankings/} 

_{Photo: Benjamin Rossen, Flickr, Creative Commons}

With spring just around the corner, some people may already be experiencing symptoms of outdoor allergies or "hay fever." While such allergies can occur anywhere in the nation, some cities are more challenging than others to live in for people with with seasonal allergies. Each year, the Asthma and Allergy Foundation of America (AAFA) ranks the 100 cities that are the most difficult to live in if you have spring allergies based on analysis from 4 factors: allergy prevalence, seasonal pollen, allergy medicine utilization per patient, and the number of board certified allergists per patient. The results for 2008 are listed below, while 2009 results will not be available until after spring is well underway. Each year’s "Spring Allergy Capitals" are listed by the AAFA to help consumers recognize, prevent, and safely treat allergy symptoms.

The top 10 worst cities to live in with spring allergies are:

1. Lexington, KY
2. Greensboro, NC
3. Johnson City, TN
4. Augusta, GA
5. Jackson, MS
6. Knoxville, TN
7. Birmingham, AL
8. New Orleans, LA
9. Little Rock, AR
10. San Diego, CA

So what can you do about your own spring allergies? See "What treatments are available for outdoor allergies?" and "How can I prevent outdoor allergies?" in the Healia Health Guide to Outdoor Allergies. Share your experiences living with allergies in your part of the country by joining the Healia Health Community for Allergy.

_{Source: Asthma and Allergy Foundation of America, 2008 Spring Allergy Capitals, 4/09. http://aafa.org/pdfs/FINAL%20public%20LIST%20Spr2008.pdf}

_{Photo: My aim is true, Flickr, Creative Commons}