Utah’s smoking rate is as thin as smoke itself.
According to new rankings from U.S. News & World Report, Utah leads the nation with the lowest smoking rate. It sits ahead of California, Connecticut, New Jersey and nearby Idaho.
Utah’s smoking rate sits at 9.1 percent, whereas the worst state in the rankings, Kentucky, has a smoking rate close to 26 percent.
In total, eight of the 10 states with the highest number of smokers came from the Southeast or Southwest, according to U.S. News.
Utah’s low smoking rate matches the national trend. The Washington Post reported that 16.8 percent of adults smoke cigarettes now, compared to the 42.4 percent who did in 1965.
Young people, especially, don’t smoke as much; 16.7 percent of those ages 18 to 24 years old are smokers. The highest rate comes from those 25 to 44, which make up 20 percent of all smokers.
Regionally, it seems the Midwest has the most smokers. The Washington Post reported that 20.7 percent of people from the Midwest smoke cigarettes, which is higher than the South (17.2 percent), the Northeast (15.3 percent) and the West (13.1 percent).