We either are, or know people who just can’t quit the addiction of smoking cigarettes.

    It is a dastardly habit, costing about $7 for a 20-pack. Smokers stink of the cigs. Serious health problems are almost sure to come.

    In rural areas and communities with lower standards of living and lower education levels, which describes many parts of Lewis County, the percentage of the population that smokes is higher than more urban areas. About 31 percent of people in the low income category across the state smoke, which is three times higher compared to those with higher incomes.

    Lewis County has suffered as one of the top per-capita counties for smoking, including for pregnant women, when compared to the rest of the state.

    Disturbing smoking statistics include 2.3 percent of sixth graders in Lewis County smoke; rising to 8.6 percent for eighth graders; 16.3 percent for 10th graders; and 22 percent for 18 year olds. About 21.9 percent of pregnant women in Lewis County smoke, resulting in about 190 babies born each year to women who smoked during their pregnancy.

    While Lewis County’s rates are above the state average, recent statistics are encouraging, as reported on the front page of The Chronicle yesterday.

    In 2004 a survey revealed 24 percent of the people of Lewis County smoke. That has dropped down to 16.3 percent for 2008. The state has also seen a dramatic drop, from 22.4 percent in 1999 down to its current rate of 15.3 percent. That is important for everybody, smokers and nonsmokers alike, as the decline in smoking should save almost $3 billion for the state in future health care costs.

    Much of the credit for the drop in smoking is being given to the state’s Tobacco Prevention and Control Program, which started in 2000. The program took a leap forward nine years ago when it received money out of a fund created from a lawsuit settlement with big tobacco companies.

    The program is comprehensive, targeting youth before they smoke, helping smokers quit, reducing second-hand smoke and putting an emphasis on high-risk groups.

    The result: smoking has been cut in half among Washington state kids, and by 30 percent in adults. Not all can be credited to the program. Changing social norms, a ban on smoking in bars and restaurants, and rising costs per cig also contribute. But the declining numbers are large enough, and the timing coincides with the ramped up effort, to give causal credit to the state program.

    We often criticize the rise in government spending and programs. In this case, funding a program (and using big tobacco money to do it) that targets one of the most destructive health habits is good government.