
At 12:01 am, Wednesday morning, it became illegal to light up a cigarette in a bar in New Orleans, a city famed for its nightlife. Orleans Parish, where New Orleans is located, had an adult smoking rate of 19.9 percent in 2012, the most recent year for which nationwide data is available. The median rate for all counties was 20.8 percent, according to CountyHealthRankings.org, which is published by the University of Wisconsin Population Health Institute. The tables below show the counties with the highest percentage of adult smokers and those with the lowest percentage of smokers in the United States for which numbers are available.
Counties With Highest Percentage of Smokers in 2012 | |
Scott, Tennessee | 51.1 |
Limestone, Texas | 49.2 |
Northwest Arctic, Alaska | 48.2 |
Ripley, Missouri | 47.1 |
Upshur, Texas | 46.8 |
Calhoun, West Virginia | 46.2 |
Greene, Illinois | 45.7 |
Menominee, Wisconsin | 45.6 |
North Slope, Alaska | 45.3 |
Gallatin, Kentucky | 45.1 |
Counties With Lowest Percentage of Smokers in 2012 | |
Madison, Idaho | 3.1 |
Cache, Utah | 4.6 |
Utah, Utah | 5.4 |
Davis, Utah | 6.3 |
Nicollet, Minnesota | 6.6 |
Summit, Utah | 7.5 |
York, Virginia | 7.5 |
Wasatch, Utah | 7.8 |
Washington, Utah | 7.8 |
Montgomery, Maryland | 7.9 |
Read next: New Orleans Smoking Ban Takes Effect
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