People in Some Geographic Regions Experience a Health Burden from Commercial Tobacco

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Commercial tobacco* gets in the way of achieving health equity for people living in certain regions and communities across the nation. People living in these regions and communities experience the negative health effects related to the use of commercial tobacco products, like cigarettes, smokeless tobacco, and cigars.1 For example:

  • The percentage of adults who use commercial tobacco products is higher in the United States (U.S.) South and Midwest than in the Northeast or West.2
  • The percentage of adults who use more than one type of tobacco product is higher in the Midwest and South than in the Northeast. For example, they may use cigarettes at certain times and smokeless tobacco at other times.2
  • People living in rural areas have higher rates of poor health and health outcomes related to commercial tobacco compared to people in urban areas.3,4,5
  • People living in rural areas have 18–20% higher lung cancer death than people living in urban areas.6 Cigarette smoking causes about 80% to 90% of lung cancer deaths in the U.S.1
  • Four of the five leading causes of premature death for people in non-metropolitan areas (heart disease, cancer, chronic lower respiratory disease, and stroke)7 can be caused by cigarette smoking.1
*“Commercial tobacco” means harmful products that are made and sold by tobacco companies. It does not include “traditional tobacco” used by Indigenous groups for religious or ceremonial purposes.
Map of the United States showing the increase in South and Midwest and decline in the tobacco products in the Northeast and West
Tobacco products
Image of a head with stroke, ribbon, heart, and lungs to illustrate the four out of five leading causes of premature death for people in non-metropolitan areas caused by cigarette smoking, which are heart disease, cancer, chronic lower respiratory disease, and stroke.
Next Section: Unfair and Unjust Practices and Conditions Harm People in Some Geographic Regions and Drive Health Disparities >
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