All Six New England States Ranked Based on Number of Smokers

I grew up with a mother and grandparents who smoked. They smoked a LOT. They nearly always had a cigarette in their hand and bought cigarettes by the carton which would last about a week or two.

It's because of that smoking that I lost my mother to lung cancer in 2005 at the age of 58. Far too young to have died from a preventable cause. It amazes me that I am not that far away from her age when she died. I miss her every single day and it hurts the most because it was preventable.

This is me with Mom around 1974 camping at Winslow Park in Freeport teaching me some sort of card game.

Back in the 70s and 80s there were a lot more smokers, but stats from the American Lung Association show a lot of improvement since then:

• In 2022, there were approximately twice as many adult smokers who had successfully quit as current adult smokers.
• Between 1974 and 2022:
  • The proportion of people smoking more than 24 cigarettes a day decreased 68% from 25% to 8%.
  • The proportion of people smoking 15-24 cigarettes a day decreased 22% from 43% to 34%.

I was curious though as to which states in New England smoke the most. I found the data from World Population Review and here are the six New England states from best to worst for the percentage of residents who smoke.

6. Connecticut 12.7%

5. Massachusetts 13.7%

4. Rhode Island 14.9%

3. New Hampshire 15.7%

2. Vermont 15.8%

1. Maine 17.3%

If you're looking to quit smoking, there's help for you. Here are some resources to help you quit.

Maine Quit Link - 1-800-QUIT-NOW

Quit Now New Hampshire - 1-800-QUIT-NOW