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According to a study from the University of California San Diego released Wednesday, the number of lung cancer deaths is 28% lower in California than in the rest of the country.
The study was conducted by researchers from the UCSD School of Medicine and the Moores Cancer Center.
Initial efforts to stop smoking by the state have seen fewer people start smoking and more people have quit smoking, researchers said.
"It's clear that since the early days of tobacco control, young Californians are becoming less likely to become addicted smokers," said UCSD professor and senior author of the study, John P. Pierce.
In the 1980s, California highlighted the link between smoking and lung cancer and set up the country's first tobacco control program led by the state's public health department, according to the report. 39; study.
Californians under 35 who smoke have consumed 30% fewer cigarettes than the rest of the country. The smoking cessation rate has also increased by 24%, said Dr. Scott M. Lippman, director of the Moores Cancer Center.
The number of lung cancer deaths in California declined from 108 per 100,000 population to nearly 63 between 1985 and 2013, Lippman said. This is 33% faster than the national average.
"Although smoking cessation has increased across the country, it does not explain why the decline in lung cancer has been so much faster in California," said Lippman. "This can only be attributed to the success of tobacco control in this state, which has been so effective in convincing young people not to smoke."
More than 7,000 chemicals are found in tobacco cigarettes, and at least one percent of them are known to cause cancer, said the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
People who smoke are 15 to 30 times more likely to be diagnosed with lung cancer than those who do not.
According to the study, smokers account for 90% of all lung cancer cases in the United States.
"Quitting smoking at any age will improve a person's quality of life," said Pierce. "But stopping smoking before the age of 35 could help smokers to avoid almost all the negative effects of smoking on health."
The UCSD examined the survey responses conducted with a million people, of whom 10% were residents of California. Data ranged from 1970 to 2014.
The research was funded in part by California's tobacco-related disease research program.
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