Staten Island Flashback: Smoking Study

Staten Island Advance - Monday, November 05, 2007

The Island's large number of smokers likely contribute to poor health statistics.

Today is Monday, Nov. 5. There are 56 days left in the year.

On this date in 1982, a graduate student at the College of Staten Island -- using certified public information -- determined that Staten Island had the highest age-adjusted respiratory cancer death rate in the city, seven points higher than the nation.

Twenty-five years later, the Island continues to battle health woes. Recent city statistics showed the Island outpaced the other boroughs with a 27.2 percent smoking rate last year, compared to 17.5 percent citywide.

Just last month, a study released by Comptroller William Thompson showed heart disease to be more prevalent on Staten Island than almost anywhere else in the city, with the borough reporting more than 350 heart disease deaths per 100,000 people in 2005, well above the city average. 
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By The Associated Press
Reprinted here with permission from the