It is estimated  that 450,000 people die from smoking related issues in the United States each year.  In  Montana that number is about 1600 per year.  Nationwide it is estimated that about 16.6 percent of americans smoke and  that amounts to about 42,000,000 people.

Montana stats.

Montana is above the national average with an estimated 190,000 Montanans smoking right now.   Montana ranks 17th in the country in smoking.  Who is number one?  West Virginia is number one with nearly 27% of the states population listed as smokers. And with West Virginia having a population of about 1.7 million that means around 410,000 people smoke in that state.   Kentucky was second with 24% of the population smoking.  Arkansas was third at 23.7%.

Which state has the lowest amount of people smoking?

The state with the least amount of smokers is Utah at 9.1%.  California is 49th with 11.5% followed by Washington State at 12.1%.

It also looks like the states that have more smokers than others, the average life expectancy is lower. For example in West Virginia, the state with the most smokers, the average life span is 74 years.  In Montana that number is 78.9.  and in Utah, the state with the least amount of smokers, the average life expectancy is 80.1.

Back to Montana for a second,  it is estimated that nearly 8% of high school students already smoke despite the legal age to smoke now sitting at 21.  The national rate for high school students nationwide is 6%.  Another fact in Montana, 6.6% use smokeless tobacco and another 5% used e cigarettes.  Vaping is also a problem with high school students.  It is estimated that 30% of Montana high school students have tried a vaping product within the past 30-days.

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