Average KY Smoker Spends Thousands On Cigarettes

Kentucky's health commissioner says the typical smoker in Kentucky spent $2,237 to buy 468 packs of cigarettes last year. Dr. Stephanie Mayfield told lawmakers yesterday nearly 962,000 Kentucky smokers over age 18 last year who purchased 450 million packs of cigarettes. Mayfield, speaking to the Program Review and Investigations Committee, said 28.4% of Kentucky adults smoked last year. She says 24.4% of pregnant women smoked as did 24.1%of minors. Despite Kentucky's best efforts to discourage youth smoking, Mayfield said some 6,100 minors begin smoking each year. Meanwhile, she said, about 7,800 deaths per year are attributed to smoking.