Indiana is doing a poor job of preventing lung cancer, according to an in-depth analysis called "2014’s Best & Worst States at Combating the High Cost of Lung Cancer" by WalletHub, a national personal finance social network.
The Hoosier state ranked 45th in the country in creating a "favorable environment for avoiding lung cancer." In specific metrics, Indiana ranked 45th in smoking bans, 45th in top-rated cancer hospitals, 44th for air quality and 43rd in lung cancer prevalence and prevention.
"Unfortunately, I'm not shocked," said Jon Macy, an assistant professor in the Department of Applied Health Science in the School of Public Health-Bloomington at Indiana University. "Indiana continues to have high rates of adult cigarette smoking, and because that is the most important cause of lung cancer it shouldn't come as a surprise that we rank poorly when it comes to lung cancer prevalence and prevention."
A recent U.S. surgeon general 's report found that Indiana has a smoking prevalence rate of 24 percent compared with the national average of 19.6 percent. The report showed that nearly 30 percent of Hoosier adults between the ages of 18 and 30 are current smokers, and that each year tobacco use kills more than 9,700 Hoosiers and costs the state more than $2 billion in health care costs.
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