By Jim McLean
KHI News Service
TOPEKA, Dec. 12 A respiratory disease linked to smoking is now among the top three causes of death in Kansas.
Chronic lower respiratory disease a category that includes emphysema, asthma and bronchitis was the third leading cause of death in Kansas in 2006 behind heart disease and cancer, according to a summary of vital statistics released Wednesday by the Kansas Department of Health and Environment.
The annual report said that 1,498 Kansans died of CLRD in 2006, 13 more than the 1,485 who died from strokes. It marked the first change in the list of top three killers since 1937.
Nationally, CLRD ranks as the fourth leading cause of death, claiming the lives of nearly 122,000 people each year.
Dr. Ghazala Perveen, director of science and surveillance in KDHE”s Office of Health Promotion, said
CLRD and the other leading causes of death share something in common they are all linked to smoking.
“That makes tobacco use the leading underlying cause of death in Kansas,” Perveen said.
The Kansas Health Policy Authority, in a recent report to legislators, said that smoking causes 4,000 Kansas deaths per year and adds $930 million a year to health care costs, including $196 million to the cost of the Medicaid program, which provides health care to low-income Kansans.
To combat the health toll of tobacco use, the KHPA is urging legislators to impose a statewide public smoking ban and to raise the tax on cigarettes and smokeless tobacco. The proposals which include a 50-cent increase in the current 79-cent tax on a pack of cigarettes would raise about $51.9 million a year. In addition to funding a series of proposed health reforms, KHPA officials say a tax increase would prompt 7,800 adults and 15,800 young people to either stop smoking or not start.
Diane Tinker, development director for the American Lung Association of the Central States, said the numbers that document the health and financial cost of smoking should help convince legislators to pass a comprehensive statewide smoking ban.
“We hope they take a look at them and take them to heart” she said.
A national report released last month reported that the prevalence of smoking in Kansas over the past year had increased from 17.8 percent to 20 percent of the population.
The vital statistics summary also contained some good news. It reported that the age-adjusted death rate for heart disease the leading cause of death decreased 22.7 percent between 1999 and 2006.
Other findings include:
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Out-of-wedlock births increased to a record high in 2006 to 14,376, or 35.2 percent of all births.
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The teen pregnancy rate increased to 27.1 per 1,000 females in the 10-19 age group, up 1.5 percent from 2005 and 3.8 percent from the record low in 2004.
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Kansas residents had 40,896 babies in 2006, an increase of 1,195 from 2005. The 3 percent increase in births was the highest since a 3.2 percent increase between 1997 and 1998.
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The infant death rate for black non-Hispanics was 17.5 per 1000 live births was 2.8 times higher than 6.2 per 1000 live births for white non-Hispanics.
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The percent of Kansas mothers who received inadequate pre-natal care increased by 6.6 percent in 2006.
The entire report is available on the KDHE website at
www.kdheks.gov/ches/
-Jim McLean is a staff writer for KHI News Service, which specializes in coverage of health issues facing Kansans. He can be reached at
jmclean@khi.org
or at 785-233-5443, ext. 110.