Smoking rates have leveled off in recent years, but the percentage of high school smokers across New York state is rising. That's according to a new report by Excellus BlueCross BlueShield.

"This is a disturbing set of findings because of its implications for the future," says Arthur Vercillo, M.D., regional president, Excellus BlueCross BlueShield. "Smoking is associated with at least 30 percent of total cancer deaths, nine of 10 lung cancer deaths and a host of other illnesses and complications that could be prevented by a single action.

"I can't even begin to describe the frustration that physicians feel when more patients report smoking," Vercillo said. "Lives are shortened unnecessarily, and billions of dollars are spent to treat illnesses caused by this deadly habit. Those dollars could be better used to treat less preventable conditions."

From 2003 to 2004, we saw about a 4 percent drop in the smoking rate in upstate New York. But that hit a plateau from 2005 to 2009. In fact, from 2008 to 2009, smoking prevalence rose about 2 percent among adults in upstate New York.

Some 24 percent of adults in the Southern Tier smoke, compared to about 20 percent in the Finger Lakes and Western New York. About 22 percent of people in Central New York and the Utica/Rome area and the North Country are smokers. Smoking rates peak in the 18- to 24-year-old age group at 28.7 percent.

Now, an initiative called Healthy People, sponsored by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, is setting a new goal. They hope to reduce the number of adults smoking to just 12 percent by 2020.

"Clearly, we still have a lot of work to do to reach the Healthy People 2020 goal," says Vercillo. "We're fighting somewhat of an uphill battle, because while the percentage of upstate New York adults who reported being former smokers increased by around 3 percentage points from 2000 to 2009, smoking prevalence didn't decrease concurrently with the rise in former smokers."

Experts say that focusing smoking prevention on youth is critical because nearly all first-time tobacco use occurs before high school graduation. Young people who start smoking are likely to continue the habit into adulthood.

Excellus BlueCross BlueShield says the majority of upstate New York smokers want to quit. Almost two-thirds of adult smokers living in upstate New York tried to quit at least once in 2009. Healthy People hopes to boost that number to 80 percent by 2020.

The good news, the study finds, is that Upstate New York adults are cutting back on how much they smoke. In 2000, more than 19 percent said they smoked every day. That's compared to just 15 percent in 2009.

The CDC recommends fully funding tobacco control programs. But with New York State's budget squeeze, funding is being slashed. In 2009 Congress passed the Family Smoking Prevention and Tobacco Control Act, giving the Food and Drug Administration unprecedented authority to regulate tobacco manufacturing, marketing and sales. The FDA has proposed large, highly visible, color graphics be required on tobacco advertising and products by 2012.

"All of these efforts are positive steps toward lowering adult smoking to the Healthy People 2020 goal," notes Vercillo. "We must make them public health priorities, encourage our state lawmakers to restore funding for New York's tobacco control programs and do whatever else we can to promote prevention and quit smoking messages targeting young people and adults alike. Our health and the financial integrity of our health care system depend on it."