American Indians with highest smoking rate in New Mexico

Monday, November 14, 2011  

Nearly a quarter of American Indians in New Mexico are smokers, according to a forthcoming state report.

Historically, smoking rates among Indians in the state have been low. But the report shows that 24.1 percent of Indian adults smoke, far higher than the 15.8 percent of Anglo adults.

"Nationally there is a decline in smoking rates among American Indians as there is in all the other groups," Wayne Honey, an epidemiologist for the New Mexico Health Department, told The Farmington Daily Times. "But we are clearly not seeing that decline here."

Most New Mexico tribes charge the same tobacco tax as the state. But that's not the case on the Navajo Nation, the largest tribe in the state.

Get the Story:
Smoke alarm: No noticeable decrease in American Indian smoking (The Farmington Daily Times 11/14)