Fewer Alaskans smoke, but 1 in 4 adults still use tobacco or nicotine, state says

Far fewer Alaska adults smoke than a generation ago, but about 1 in 4 still use some form of tobacco or nicotine. The state is using next week's Great American Smokeout to encourage them to try its free Quit Line.

Adult smoking fell from 27% in 1997 to 15.4% in 2023, according to the Alaska Department of Health. Yet 24% of adults use some tobacco or nicotine product, the department says, and so did nearly 23% of high school students in 2023. Smoking alone is linked to about 600 deaths a year in Alaska.

The Smokeout, marking its 50th anniversary, asks people across the country to quit for one day, Thursday, Nov. 19. That day "could be your day one of quitting for good," the department said in a bulletin Tuesday.

Its own example of how that goes is an Anchorage man named Derrick, who quit vaping on his second try. His first attempt with the Quit Line didn't stick. When he came back, he chose free nicotine patches, which the department said helped him through cravings as they eased his body off nicotine.

"They didn't turn me away," Derrick said in the bulletin. "The second time after I relapsed, I came back. They took me back in with open arms and we made it happen this time."

The department says slip-ups are normal and quitting can take a few tries.

The Quit Line is confidential and runs around the clock. It offers coaching, quit plans and free patches, lozenges and gum. In May, the state expanded its free help to nicotine pouches and iqmik, a smokeless tobacco made from fungus ash mixed with commercial tobacco leaves.

Within 20 minutes of a last cigarette, heart rate returns to normal and blood pressure drops, the department says. Over time, quitting lowers the risk of cancer, heart disease, stroke and lung disease.