Tobacco use comparing Everyday Smokers, Non-Smokers, and Chewing Tobacco users by age, sex, educational attainment, and income level. Banded in 3 year increments since 2012 for both Erie County and Pennsylvania.

Smoking is a leading cause of preventable death, causing more than 480,000 deaths per year in the U.S. and leading to higher long-term health costs. Smoking causes cancer, heart disease, stroke, and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease both among smokers and people exposed to secondhand smoke. Smokeless tobacco is the leading cause of oral cancer and increases likelihood of other oral disease.

Age

Erie County shows a slightly higher everyday smoker rate than the whole of PA, particularly amongst the age grouping of 18 to 44 (5% more) who in Erie County represented the highest average category at 17%. In Erie County, there was a 2% increase in daily smokers among the age group 45-65 from 2018-2020 to 2020-2022. Overall, across all age categories, there were fewer non-smokers in Erie County than PA on average.

Sex

In Erie County, the percentage of everyday smokers is higher among females (15%) compared to males (11%). In contrast, Pennsylvania as a whole has a lower percentage of female daily smokers (12%) and a slightly higher percentage of male smokers (13%). 

Educational Attainment

In Erie County residents with only a high school diploma were 3% higher than the state average of 16% to be an everyday smoker. Likewise, residents who reported as having some college education or an associate's degree were more likely on average to smoke, reporting as 15% everyday smoker compared to the statewide 12%. The variable in which Erie County ranks equally on average than PA concerning tobacco use and educational attainment is within chewing tobacco use amongst residxent with some college degree, with a reported 4%.

Income

Across most variables and categories of income levels, Erie County reported lower averages of non-smokers and higher averages of everyday smokers. The only inverse to this trend occurs for residents identified as everyday smokers, wherein those earning $25,000 to $49,000 per year in Erie county (25%) were higher than the statewide average of 16% everyday smokers. However, Erie county's everyday smokers represent 19% of those earning less than $25,000, while statewide that number is 20%.

EVS analyzes the data in each topic category using indicators, which report a targeted and digestible number, rate, or amount to represent Erie County as a whole. While this does not cover every aspect of the topic, it assists in establishing Erie's performance relative to the prior year(s). The indicator for the Health: Smoking & Tobacco topic is:

This indicator measures the percentage of Erie County adults in a who identified that they are a smoker (smoke every day or some days). The trend for Adult Smokers was up and worse for the latest 2020 to 2022 period with a reported increase of 1.0% within the County.

These data were provided by the Pennsylvania Department of Health. The Department specifically disclaims responsibility for any analyses, interpretations, or conclusions. Updated as of 08/2024