The county-by-county health study reported by Meredith Cohn and Larry Carson includes many variables derived from data collected by the Centers for Disease Control. These include premature death, binge drinking, obesity, low birth weight etc. The conclusion, as they note, is no surprise. On average, people who live in well-off suburbs are healthier than folks in rural counties or Baltimore city.

Howard County is healthiest, Montgomery County No. 2, Frederick County No. 3. Least healthy is Baltimore, followed by Somerset and Dorchester counties. Click here for an interactive map and ranking of Maryland counties by health.

But the results would have been very similar if the surveyors had looked at one variable only: smoking. Somerset County is No. 1 in smoking -- 33 percent of adults vs. 11 percent in Montgomery County. In Baltimore 26 percent of the adults smoke. Other top smoking counties are Cecil, Caroline, Dorchester and Allegheny. Not only is smoking deadly. It's also strongly associated with other unhealthy behavior. Click here for an interactive map and ranking of Maryland jurisdictions by smoking.