New research shows Minnesota’s adult smoking rate has declined to 14.4 percent, the lowest rate ever recorded and a significant decrease from 2010.
The findings come from the Minnesota Adult Tobacco Survey (MATS). MATS is a major research project examining tobacco use conducted by ClearWay Minnesota and the Minnesota Department of Health. More than 9,000 Minnesotans were interviewed by telephone in 2014.
The research also found that recent changes helped smokers to quit. Smokers reported that a statewide tobacco price increase in 2013 influenced their smoking behaviors, including making quit attempts, successfully quitting and cutting down on smoking. Among former smokers who quit in the past year, majorities said that the price increase helped them to make quit attempts (62.8 percent) or to stay smoke-free (62.7 percent).
Other findings from MATS 2014 include:
- Smoking rates are highest among those with fewer years of education and lower incomes.
- Men smoke at higher rates than women.
- The smoking rate for young adults (ages 18-24) dropped significantly. This age group had the highest smoking rate in all previous MATS studies. Minnesota’s highest smoking rate by age is now among adults aged 25-44 years old.
- Menthol cigarettes are used by a quarter of all smokers.
- The percent of Minnesota adults using e-cigarettes at least once in the past 30 days increased to 5.9 percent. Most Minnesotans who used e-cigarettes in the past 30 days also used conventional cigarettes.
- More Minnesotans are making their homes smoke-free. The percentage of Minnesotans with smoke-free home rules has increased to 89.3 percent. Even 61.4 percent of smokers now have smoke-free home rules.
Released approximately every four years, MATS provides comprehensive information about smoking rates and tobacco-related behaviors among Minnesota adults. Previous surveys were conducted in 1999, 2003, 2007 and 2010.
The full report is available at www.mnadulttobaccosurvey.org.
