Pick on New England all you want...

But is your state in the top 10? According to the Morgan Quitno Press' annual "Healthiest State Award," 4 out of the 6 New England States were in the top 10, my home state of VT being #2 (normally it's #1 - New Hampshire is always stealing our limelight - but they do have a good hospital up there by Dartmouth College, so I can't say too much about it). Rhode Island rounded out the New England entries at #18 - not too shabby.

I think it's very interesting that no "northern" states are lower than 35. Since the study includes tobacco usage, I can only assume that the pride one sees in tobacco down here is the culprit. Two examples: First, I was driving home from a meeting in RTP, and a van in front of me had the following bumper sticker: "At least I can still smoke in my car!" Second, last week was "Agriculture Awareness Week" here at NC State. There were chickens, pigs and sheep out on the brickyard - the brave could even milk a cow if they wanted. While this is unorthodox, NC State is a land grant institution, so they should be out there encouraging the future farmers. What shocked me, though, was the Skoal (ie chewing tobacco) tent out there, which was giving away free tobacco. There's a great way to support NC farmers: get all of the 18 year olds hooked on chew so that there will always be a market for NC tobacco. Wow. Other people were surprised by this as well, and there were quite a few "letters to the editor" in the school paper. It truly is a different world...