June 29, 2015
Data from the Southeastern Pennsylvania Household Health Survey indicates that the percentage of adult Philadelphians who smoke has dropped to an all-time low, CBSPhilly reports.
The percentage of smokers in Philadelphia has dropped from 27.3 percent in 2008 to 22.4 percent in 2014-15, the report said.
“My administration has made it a priority to prevent youth from taking up smoking, to help current smokers kick the habit and to protect residents from secondhand smoke in indoor and outdoor spaces,” Mayor Michael Nutter told CBSPhilly.
Between 2008 and 2014, smoke-free policies expanded from restaurants, bars and workplaces to city parks.
The report says the most recent data on adult smoking was collected in late 2014/early 2015, so it does not reflect the full impact of Philadelphia’s $2 cigarette tax.
The decline in smoking applied to all racial and ethnic groups and across the socio-economic spectrum, according to the report.
