At 14 out of every 100, the proportion of people who smoke in New York City is the lowest on record, according to new figures released by the city’s Department of Health and Mental Hygiene on Thursday. Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg, himself a former smoker, and other city leaders said nearly half a million New Yorkers have quit smoking since 2002, with rates among teenagers city-wide showing some of the steepest decline.

The new figures come from the latest Community Health Survey, which polls 10,000 New Yorkers via telephone every year.

The numbers released on Thursday show that about 450,000 New Yorkers have kicked the habit between 2002 to 2010, a 35% decrease.

Bloomberg told the press that:

“Smoking is the leading cause of preventable, premature death in New York City and the nation today and we’re proud that a record number of News Yorkers are saving their own lives by quitting.”

“This decrease will prevent 50,000 premature deaths by the year 2052 and I encourage those who are still smoking to take this opportunity to get help quitting by calling 311 today,” he urged.

In 2002 the figures showed that 22 out of 100 New Yorkers were smokers. From 2009 to 2010, the rate went down by 11%, equal to 100,000 quitters in one year alone. This is the biggest drop since the 2002-03 drop from 22 to 19% that followed the bringing into law of the City’s Smoke-Free Air Act and the 2002 New York State cigarette tax rise.

Smoking among high school students has also fallen dramatically in the first decade of the millenium, falling by more than half from 18 to 7% between 2001 and 2010. NYC’s teen smoking rate is now significantly lower than the national average, which only went down from 29 to 20% between 2001 and 2009.

Council Speaker Christine C. Quinn said:

“The fact that the adult smoking rate is the lowest it’s been since 2002 means that lives are being saved, our air is cleaner and New Yorkers are healthier.”

Quinn said the last ten years has seen the City become increasingly “smoke-free”. Exposure to second-hand smoke has gone down, thanks to several measures to strengthen the Smoke Free Air Act, including an amendment brought in last Spring that made public parks and beaches smoke-free.

“This matters because according to experts secondhand smoke causes more cancer deaths than asbestos, benzene, arsenic, and pesticides combined,” said Quinn.

Deputy Mayor for Health and Human Services Linda I Gibbs said the success was thanks to a multi-pronged effort that includes hard-hitting education campaigns, changes in legislation, the 311 Quit Line, and excise taxes on cigarettes.

“Our multi-faceted approach is helping New Yorkers quit smoking,” she added.

Health Commissioner Dr. Thomas A. Farley pointed out that “this progress didn’t just happen”.

“It is the result of deliberate steps taken by the Mayor and the City Council since 2002. Nevertheless, despite our falling smoking rate and a decline in smoking-related deaths over the last eight years, smoking will kill about 7,000 New Yorkers this year.”

This is still too many preventable deaths, said Farley, who said they will continue to work to bring the smoking rates down.

“I encourage those who still smoke to keep trying to quit. Calling 311 for help will increase your chances of being successful,” he urged.

Written by Catharine Paddock PhD