Synopsis for November 12, 2004

The MMWR is embargoed until Wednesday, 12 PM EST.

1. State-Specific Prevalence of Current Cigarette Smoking Among Adults ― United States, 2003
2. Indoor Air Quality in Hospitality Venues Before and After Implementation of a Clean Indoor Law ― Western New York, 2003
3. Vaccination Coverage Among Children Entering School ― United States, 2003-04 School Year
4. Awareness of Family Health History as a Risk Factor for Disease ― United States, 2004
5. Preventive-Care Practices Among Adults with Diabetes ― Puerto Rico, 2000-2002
6. West Nile Virus Activity ― United States, November 3-8, 2004

State-Specific Prevalence of Current Cigarette Smoking Among Adults ― United States, 2003

Unless states expand cessation and other tobacco-control and -prevention efforts, the Healthy People 2010 goal of reducing smoking prevalence to <12 percent will not be achieved.

For the first time, the prevalence of cigarette smoking among adults in a state (Utah) has reached the Healthy People 2010 health objective of <12 percent. However, prevalence varies threefold across the 50 states, the District of Columbia (DC), Guam, Puerto Rico, and the U.S. Virgin Islands (range: 10–34 percent). While the prevalence of cigarette smoking among U.S. adults has declined, the rate of decline is not rapid enough for the country to reach the national health objective. The fact that the national objective has been met in Utah and the U.S. Virgin Islands shows that it is an attainable goal. However, as a result of state budget deficits, the amount of money states are spending on tobacco control has dropped 28 percent in the last two years. For fiscal year 2004, only four states (Maine, Mississippi, Arkansas, and Delaware) were investing at least the minimum amount recommended by CDC for comprehensive tobacco control programs.

Indoor Air Quality in Hospitality Venues Before and After Implementation of a Clean Indoor Law ― Western New York, 2003

While population-based data show declining SHS exposure in the United States over time, SHS exposure remains a common, preventable public health hazard. These findings demonstrate that comprehensive clean indoor air policies can rapidly and effectively reduce SHS exposure in hospitality venues.

A study published in the November 12 issue of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) journal, Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report, reported on changes in indoor air quality in 22 hospitality venues in western New York following implementation of a comprehensive state law that eliminated smoking in almost all enclosed workplaces and public places, including restaurants, bars, and other hospitality venues. The study found that, on average, levels of respirable suspended particles (RSPs), an accepted marker for secondhand smoke (SHS), decreased 84 percent after the law took effect in the 20 venues where smoking or indirect SHS exposure from an adjoining room was occurring at baseline. RSP levels were reduced in every venue where smoking was occurring before the law was implemented. These findings demonstrate that comprehensive clean indoor air policies can rapidly and effectively reduce SHS exposure in hospitality venues.

Vaccination Coverage Among Children Entering School ― United States, 2003-04 School Year

Public health departments, state immunization programs, state legislators, parents.

The quality of information reported by states to CDC about kindergarten vaccination coverage continues to improve. For the first time, 5 territories and former territories reported coverage among kindergarteners. For the 2003 – 2004 school year, the number of state reports based on a census of children entering kindergarten increased from 18 to 22 since the last report. In an additional 21 states, coverage was assessed in samples of >80 percent of children. In the remaining 7 states, coverage was assessed in surveys of <50 percent of children (range: 0.5--18.5 percent).

Awareness of Family Health History as a Risk Factor for Disease ― United States, 2004

Family history can be an important tool for identifying people at risk of disease. The public should be encouraged to collect their family histories and share the information with their doctors and other health care providers.

CDC and the US Surgeon General have launched initiatives to develop family history tools to raise awareness about the usefulness of knowing family history to prevent disease, and to educate and assist physicians in interpreting and applying the information in their practices. These initiatives have been launched for the following reasons:

- Family history is an important risk factor for many diseases and can be used to identify people at increased risk for disease.

- Physicians could use family history more often to identify and reduce risk of disease in their patients.

- Public health officials would like a larger proportion of the public to collect health information from their relatives for purposes of developing a family history.

Preventive-Care Practices Among Adults with Diabetes ― Puerto Rico, 2000-2002

Effective interventions are available that can prevent or delay the development of diabetes complications. However, the level of diabetes-related preventive-care practices is lower than recommended in the United States and Puerto Rico. Improvement in diabetes care is needed to achieve the national health objectives for 2010 and reduce the incidence of complications. Persons with diabetes younger than 65 years are especially in need of interventions to improve their preventive care.

Preventive-care practices among persons with diabetes can prevent or delay complications such as eye disease, kidney disease, or nerve damage, a precursor to disabling foot disease. However, the level of diabetes-related preventive care is inadequate in the United States. In Puerto Rico, the percentages of adults with diabetes who engage in selected preventive-care practices, with the exception of hemoglobin A1c testing, were lower than the Healthy People 2010 targets. Moreover, less than 5% of adults with diabetes in Puerto Rico engaged in all of the five practices studied. Improvement in diabetes care, particularly in self-management education and in self-monitoring of blood glucose, is needed to achieve the national health objectives and reduce the incidence of complications.

West Nile Virus Activity ― United States,
November 3-8, 2004

No summary available.

Media Home | Contact Us
CDC Home | Search | Health Topics A-Z

This page last reviewed November 12, 2004
URL: http://www.cdc.gov/media/mmwrnews/n041112.htm

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
Office of Communication