Every year, more Californians are learning that it’s a bad idea to smoke. And a new study from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention suggests that it’s paying off in lower rates of lung cancer.

“This is very exciting,” said Dr. David Fleming, deputy director for science and public health at the CDC. “It shows that when the public pays attention and chooses to invest resources in smoking prevention, those efforts pay off — not only in decreased use of tobacco, but in decreased disease.”

Studying data from 1988 through 1997, CDC investigators found that the rate of lung and bronchial cancers fell faster in California than elsewhere in the country. Compared to an overall drop of 2 percent in five other states and three metropolitan areas, research showed a 14 percent decrease in lung cancers among Californians.

“That drop in lung cancer is linked to the fact that cigarette consumption in California has dropped 50 percent,” Fleming said. “What we’re seeing is the first disease reduction resulting from California’s comprehensive tobacco prevention efforts.”

In the past 10 years, California has spent some $634 million — in part funded by a 25-cent increase in cigarette taxes instituted in 1989 — on tobacco use-reduction efforts. These efforts include an aggressive campaign of public education, clean-indoor laws and community-based support for smoking cessation programs.

In 1999, cigarette consumption in California was measured at about 61 packs per capita. Nationwide, consumption is at nearly 107 packs a person. More recent statistics from the California Department of Health Services show the decline in lung cancers continued beyond the CDC’s study period.

From 1997 to 1998, the rate of lung cancer decreased from 60.1 cases to 57.6 cases per 100,000 residents.

“There is no mystery as to why California has witnessed a significant decline in the incidence of lung and bronchus cancers while other regions nationwide have seen little or no change,” department director Diana M. Bonta said in a statement. “We must continue these programs in full force to effectively counter the tobacco industry’s aggressive marketing of tobacco in California, and help those who use tobacco products to break the chains of their addiction.”

About 90 percent of lung cancers are caused by tobacco use, said Fleming.

Another interesting CDC finding is that while lung cancer rates are declining in the nation as a whole, they are increasing among women.

“Lung cancer in women in this country is really epidemic because women started using tobacco later in the 20th century than men did. We’re still seeing the results,” Fleming said. “In California, rates among women dropped almost 5 percent. But in the rest of the country, they went up 13 percent.”

In addition to California, other data studied came from Connecticut, Hawaii, Iowa, New Mexico and Utah, and the cities of Atlanta, Georgia; Detroit, Michigan; and the Seattle-Puget Sound area of Washington.

“California has been a leader in this area,” said Fleming. “It shows what can happen when you choose to invest resources in tobacco reduction.”

The study “may help other states that have been ambivalent” about anti-smoking education, he said.

Other studies are ongoing concerning the ways tobacco-reduction efforts may have impacted other smoking-related illnesses such as heart disease, Fleming added.

• Lung cancer is the leading cause of cancer death in the United States for both men and women. (Source: Cancer Facts and Figures 2008)
• Lung cancer is the most preventable form of cancer death in our society. (Source: Cancer Facts and Figures 2008)
• Lung cancer estimates for 2008 (Source: Cancer Facts and Figures 2008):

• Besides lung cancer, tobacco use also causes increased risk for cancer of the mouth, nasal cavities (nose), larynx (voice box), pharynx (throat), esophagus (swallowing tube), stomach, liver, pancreas, kidney, bladder, uterine cervix, and acute myeloid leukemia. (Source: Cancer Facts and Figures 2008)
• In the United States, tobacco use was responsible for nearly 1 in 5 deaths or an estimated 438,000 premature deaths per year from 1997 to 2001. (Cancer Facts and Figures 2008)
• Tobacco use accounts for at least 30% of all cancer deaths and 87% of lung cancer deaths. (Source: Cancer Facts and Figures 2008)
• Per capita cigarette consumption is currently lower than at any point since the start of World War II. Nonetheless, an estimated 24% of men and 18% of women still smoke cigarettes, with approximately 80% of these individuals smoking daily. (Source: MMWR, Nov. 9, 2007: Cigarette Smoking Among Adults — United States 2006)
• Cigarette smoking among adults aged 18 and older went down 50% between 1965 and 2004 — from 42% to 21%; still, about 45 million Americans are current smokers. (Source: Cancer Facts and Figures 2008)
• In 1997, nearly one-half (48%) of male high school students and more than one-third (36%) of female students reported using some form of tobacco — cigarettes, cigars, or oral tobacco products–in the past month. The percentages declined to 32% for male students and 25% for female students in 2005. (Source: Cancer Facts and Figures 2008)
• Each year, about 3,000 non-smoking adults die of lung cancer as a result of breathing secondhand smoke. Each year secondhand smoke also causes an estimated 35,000 deaths from heart disease in people who are not current smokers. (Source: Cancer Facts and Figures 2008)
• Cigars contain many of the same carcinogens that are found in cigarettes. Cigar smoking increased 148% from 1993 to 2006. Cigar smoking is associated with cancers of the lung, oral cavity (mouth), larynx (voice box), esophagus (swallowing tube), and possibly the pancreas. (Source: Cancer Facts and Figures 2008)
• Among adults age 18 and older, national data from 2004 showed 6% of men and 1% of women were current users of chewing tobacco or snuff. Nationwide, 14% of US male high school students and 2% of female high school students were using chewing tobacco, snuff, or dip in 2005. (Source: Cancer Facts and Figures 2007)
• Oral tobacco products contain 28 cancer-causing agents (carcinogens). Oral tobacco is a known cause of human cancer, as it increases the risk of developing cancer of the oral cavity (mouth). (Source: CDC Web site, Smokeless Tobacco Fact Sheet, 2007)
• Oral tobacco use can lead to nicotine addiction and dependence.
• Smoking causes more than $167 billion in annual health-related economic costs, including adult death-related productivity costs, adult medical expenditures, and medical expenditures for newborns. (Source: Cancer Facts and Figures 2008)