O.C. Residents Are Rated Least Likely to Smoke

Orange County residents are less likely to light up than people in any of the other 99 metropolitan areas surveyed in a federal report on smoking released Thursday.

The study, the first of its kind to measure smoking patterns in specific urban areas, found that roughly 13% of Orange County residents smoke cigarettes, compared to a national average of about 23%. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention found that communities in California and the West generally had fewer smokers than did the Midwest and South.

In San Diego, for example, the survey found that 15% of residents smoke; Los Angeles and the Inland Empire posted slightly higher numbers: 18% and 21% respectively.

Researchers said it makes sense that California has lower smoking rates, given its long tradition of tobacco control programs, higher cigarette taxes, anti-smoking commercials and strict no-smoking laws for restaurants, bars and other public places.

Still, Orange County officials were pleasantly surprised to see the county at the top of the list.

“I’m thrilled to see it, but I can honestly say I wouldn’t have guessed that we were the very lowest,” said Dr. Mark Horton, the Orange County Health Care Agency’s deputy director for public health care.

Previous studies have ranked the county as one of the healthiest in California, with rates of numerous diseases--including lung cancer--well below the state average. In explaining those reports, health officials have cited the area’s relative youth and affluence, as well as a special attention to good health and outdoor activities.

Horton said those factors probably also play a role in the low percentage of smokers. But he also cited the county’s growing number of Latinos, who now make up about 28% of the population.

“Smoking rates among Hispanics are somewhat lower than Caucasians,” Horton said. “The fact that we have a large and growing Latino community might be part of it.”

Latinos are less likely to smoke than most other racial or ethnic groups, according to research by the National Latino Council on Alcohol and Tobacco Prevention. The rate is even lower for Latino women. According to an August report, about 20% of all Latinos smoke.

Anti-smoking activists were quick to credit tough state laws as well as a cultural shift.

“People are more protective of their own health now, and certain behavior is less acceptable,” said Marilyn Pritchard of the Tobacco Use Prevention Program. “It’s something that you really have to go out of state to realize. I went to Vegas recently and went into a restaurant and I almost died. I forgot what it was like to eat where smoking was allowed.”

At Lucky John’s Bar in Fullerton, where the owner and customers openly flout the state’s smoking ban, customer Augie Diaz said it has become increasingly difficult to be a smoker in Orange County.

“I’ve seen my friends just dropping off, just quitting smoking because of the hassles. A lot of people quit because people give them such a hard time for it,” said Diaz, 40, of Fullerton. “People pick on you for it. I get in arguments over it, and that’s no fun.”

Regardless of the reason, CDC officials say the county’s low smoking rate bodes well for the health of its residents.

“The lower smoking rate in Orange County means that people there can expect to have longer, healthier lives,” said Dr. Terry Pechacek of the CDC’s Office on Smoking and Health. “Low rates translate directly into lower rates of heart disease, cancer and lung disorders.”

But some residents are skeptical of the CDC report.

“Orange County is a Republican county, who are less uptight about things” like smoking, said Bruce Packer, 24, manager of the Tinder Box smoke shop at South Coast Plaza.

Previous studies by the CDC have ranked areas by state only.

The new survey was conducted by telephone and involved more than 30,000 respondents. People were marked as smokers if they said they had smoked more than 100 cigarettes in their lifetime and smoked every day or some days.

The survey covered 99 cities or larger metropolitan areas. The Orange County results were based on 300 telephone calls.

Topping the charts for the highest smoking rate were residents of Toledo, Ohio, 31% of whom said they were smokers. Communities with low smoking numbers including suburban New Jersey, Miami and Phoenix.

In a state-by-state breakdown of smoking rates, the CDC found that Kentucky led the nation with 30.5% of its population smoking, and Utah had the lowest rate, just 12.9%.

Kentucky, a major tobacco producer, topped the list from 1995 to 1999 and was briefly unseated last year by Nevada, with its 24-hour, smoker-friendly casinos and bars.

Utah, where Mormon church opposition to smoking has been credited with keeping rates low, was also at the bottom of the list last year.

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Times staff writer Mai Tran contributed to this report.