If the 13 U.S. states with the highest smoking rates were a nation, it would be among those countries with the highest rates of tobacco use among youth, according to a study from the nonprofit Truth Initiative.
The analysis, which dubbed these high-tobacco-use states “Tobacco Nation,” compared that U.S. region to the 10 nations identified by the Bloomberg Initiative to Reduce Tobacco Use as having the highest smoking rates. Tobacco Nation ranks fifth in that group, posting a youth smoking rate of 10 percent.
In comparison, Indonesia has a 20 percent youth smoking rate; Ukraine, 17 percent; Mexico, 15 percent; and the Philippines, 12 percent. On that Bloomberg top-10 list, Brazil Pakistan, China, India, Vietnam and Bangladesh posted lower rates of youth cigarette smoking, according to the Truth Initiative.
Among the same nations, Tobacco Nation’s 21 percent rate of adult smoking was the sixth highest. Tobacco Nation consists of Alabama, Arkansas, Indiana, Kentucky, Louisiana, Michigan, Mississippi, Missouri, Ohio, Oklahoma, South Carolina, Tennessee and West Virginia.
“When comparing the U.S. to other countries around the world, it is clear that Tobacco Nation is driving the U.S. smoking rate,” the Truth Initiative study said.
---
Nations With Some of the Highest Youth Smoking Rates
| Rank | Nation | % of Youth Smokers |
| 1 | Indonesia | 20% |
| 2 | Ukraine | 17% |
| 3 | Mexico | 15% |
| 4 | Philippines | 12% |
| 5 | Tobacco Nation | 10% |
