California lung cancer death rate less than national average

SAN DIEGO (AP) — A study concludes that California has a 28 percent lower lung cancer death rate than the rest of the country thanks to statewide policies against tobacco.

Researchers at the University of California, San Diego announced Wednesday that state efforts to curb tobacco use resulted in fewer people starting smoking and more people quitting.

As far back as the 1980s California highlighted the link between smoking and cancer and introduced the nation’s first tobacco control program.

The research finds Californians under 35 who do smoke puffed 30 percent fewer cigarettes and had a 24 percent higher quit rate than the rest of the nation.

Lung cancer deaths in California decreased from 108 per 100,000 people in 1985 to just 63 per 100,000 in 2013. The decline is 33 percent faster than the national average.