(McClatchy-Tribune Information Services) -- Major progress has been made in reducing cigarette smoking in the United States, but the success is uneven across the states and below national goals, according to a new report.

The report from the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation was prepared by researchers in Buffalo and released this week at the National Conference on Tobacco or Health in Phoenix.

"The data show that tobacco control programs save lives but that we need to diffuse them more across the country," said Gary Giovino, chairman of the department of human behavior at the University at Buffalo and principal investigator on the project.

Among the key findings:

--The prevalence of cigarette smoking among adults in the United States declined from 24.5 percent to 18.5 percent from 1992-93 to 2006-07.

--Smoking rates decreased in 39 states and the District of Columbia for people age 30 and older during the period studied, but in only 11 states for 18-to-29-year-olds.

--There is wide variation across states, with states in the Midwest and along the Mississippi River showing the highest rates of smoking. Among 18-to-29-year-olds, the prevalence was 2.5 times higher in Kentucky (36.2 percent) than in California (14.4 percent).

--Smokers living in low-prevalence states were more interested in quitting than were smokers in high-prevalence states, where smoking remains particularly entrenched among individuals with lower incomes and levels of education.

--Smoking prevalence among high school students increased in the early to mid-1990s, a reflection of industry marketing efforts targeting young people.

--Across all states, cigarette excise tax revenues increased from $10.35 billion in 2002 to an estimated $15.25 billion in 2007. State to state, the taxes range from $3.46 a pack in Rhode Island to 7 cents in South Carolina.

"The good news is that, overall, smoking prevalence is going down," said Giovino.

Researchers from eight other institutions, including Roswell Park Cancer Institute, contributed to the report released by the foundation, a philanthropic organization devoted to health care issues.

In New York State, the prevalance of smoking among adults remains slightly below the national average. One statistic for the state stands out: Fewer than 14 percent of New York high school students report that they smoke, compared with 20 percent in the United States.

Despite the falling rates of smoking among adults, the report concluded that tobacco use remains far above the goal of the national Healthy People 2010 initiative to reduce prevalence to 12 percent by the end of the decade.

"We need interventions that are relevant to the people who are still smoking," said Giovino.

He and the other authors of "Cigarette Smoking Prevalence and Policies in the 50 States: An Era of Change," concluded that obstacles stand in the way of further reductions in tobacco use.

They include continued marketing and lobbying efforts by tobacco companies, and an unwillingness in some states to expand tobacco control initiatives, perhaps because of the influence of tobacco companies or their concern about losing excise tax revenues if cigarette sales decrease.

Copyright (C) 2009, The Buffalo News, N.Y.