As the leading cause of preventable deaths in the United States, smoking was responsible for 440,000 premature deaths annually between 1995 and 1999.14

In Michigan, smoking prevalence has remained relatively stable over the past decade (see graph below). It was estimated that 24.1% of Michigan adults were current smokers in 2002. The prevalence of current smoking was inversely related to age and to education and income levels. Among current smokers, 59.2 ± 3.4% had tried to quit smoking for at least one day in the past year.

To achieve the Healthy People goal of a cigarette smoking prevalence of 12% by 2010,15 the proportion of current smokers in Michigan will need to drop by about 1.5 percentage points a year.