The rate of calls to the North Dakota Tobacco Quitline from residents in Barnes County more than tripled from 2009 to 2010, said the county's Tobacco Prevention Coordinator, Vicki Voldal-Rosenau.
As a whole, smoking rates in North Dakota have decreased in the last couple years.
"This is just the beginning, if we don't let up" Voldal-Rosenau said. "Can we ever let up? Sure, but there's still a lot of people starting to smoke and it's a killer."