Warnings about smoking may be an old issue, but its dangers are relevant today. According to 2002 national statistics, Wisconsin has the highest rate of smokers in the nation.

The National Center for Chronic Disease Prevention and Health Promotion said approximately 24 percent of Wisconsin residents smoke compared to 23 percent nationwide. This has been a fairly consistent statistic for over a decade.

Jenny Rohde, spokeswoman for the American Lung Association of Wisconsin, said there is no particular reason for the higher rates, except that more people are smoking.

In addition to higher smoking rates, more Wisconsin women than women nationwide suffer from chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, the fourth-leading cause of death in the U.S. and the third in Wisconsin, according to a recent report released by the Wisconsin Public Health and Health Policy Institute and the American Lung Association of Wisconsin.

The mortality rate increased between 1979 and 1998 on both the state and national levels. However, the rate among females in Wisconsin increased 4.3 times compared to the 3.7-fold increase among females in the United States overall.

“COPD is a silent epidemic of tragic proportions. More than 2,000 people died in Wisconsin from this disease last year, and almost all of those deaths were preventable,” pulmonologist Dr. Nizar Jarjour said.

The report analyzed data from several sources to derive its results, but could not find a cause for the disease’s increase.

“Even given the sharp increase in prevalence and change to a more dangerous cigarette product, some of the causes for the alarming increase in the disease, particularly among women, remain unknown,” the report said.

David Ahrens, co-author of the report, speculated that the increases result from women smoking light cigarettes. This “compensatory behavior,” as Ahrens calls it, makes smokers inhale harder and more deeply into the lungs because the filter is tighter.

Ironically, COPD has decreased among men both in Wisconsin and in the nation.

Additionally, the largest group of smokers in Wisconsin is 18 to 24-year-olds.

“We used to think if we got to kids before they reach high school, they won’t ever pick up a cigarette,” Rohde said. “We’re finding out they’re picking up their first cigarette in college.”

Rohde speculated that this phenomenon resulted from the 1999 tobacco settlements that made it illegal for tobacco companies to target children. Companies then went to the next logical age group and heavily targeted college students, handing out free packs of cigarettes in bars, Rohde added.

The cost of smoking is another major issue in Wisconsin. The state spends about $1.6 billion in health-care costs related to smoking per year and loses $1.4 billion a year in productivity.

However, the state government is cutting down on its monetary fight against smoking, mainly because of budget constraints.

“The trend in the last three years in the state has been a reduced effort by the state to give funds for tobacco prevention,” Jill Ness, director of grassroots development for Smoke-free Wisconsin, said.

Ness added that this reduction is a major concern because it will affect long-term costs for health care. California and Massachusetts, two states that spend a lot of money on smoking prevention, have seen dramatic decreases in the number of smokers. For every $1 they spend on prevention, they save $3 in health-care costs, she said.

“It’s a good investment,” Ness said. “It’s a long-term savings.”