State tobacco prevention, control activities: results of 1989-1990 association of state, territorial health officials survey - final report

Article Abstract:

This report is based on the 1989 survey of state health departments by the Association of State and Territorial Health Officials (ASTHO) concerning the prevention and control of tobacco use. State tobacco-use control programs vary widely; the survey results may be useful for planning and evaluating them. Questionnaires were sent to all 50 states and the District of Columbia, and all were returned. The actual respondents were health professionals in a network set up by ASTHO in 1989 for purposes of communication between the federal government and state health departments on tobacco-use prevention and control. Results showed that 12 states had specific freestanding plans for preventing and controlling tobacco use and 22 states had plans that were part of chronic disease programs. State funds devoted to these efforts ranged from zero (in 27 states) to $151 million in California. California and six other states have earmarked part of the cigarette excise tax for health programs. Tobacco revenues for the 16 tobacco-growing states totalled $2,381,000,000 in 1989, or 1.5 percent of the total US agricultural farm receipts. The methods used in other state surveys related to smoking behavior are described. Data are presented concerning smoking in public places; state health department policies concerning tobacco use; states' restrictions on minors' access to tobacco products; restrictions on tobacco advertising; coalitions devoted to tobacco control; and special populations such as adolescents, women of reproductive age, Asians/Pacific Islanders, American Indians, Hispanics, and blacks, who are targeted for special intervention. Information or education efforts include: public service announcements; smoking cessation programs; and economic incentives or deterrents, such as health benefits packages with different rates for nonsmokers and smokers. Policies in educational institutions are also reviewed. Little information is available concerning programs to prevent tobacco use among minors. Suggestions are presented for evaluating states' progress with subsequent surveys. The 16 objectives related to decreasing tobacco use, as outlined in Healthy People 2000: National health Promotion and Disease Prevention Objectives, are listed. (Consumer Summary produced by Reliance Medical Information, Inc.)

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Making smoking prevention a reality

Article Abstract:

In spite of considerable progress by anti-tobacco forces in the last three decades, 50 Americans die each hour from preventable smoking-related diseases. Tobacco is ''the plague of our time,'' and it can galvanize health professionals to work together to achieve a smoking prevalence of no more than 15 percent by the year 2000. A concerted national effort must involve recognition of the complex environmental, social, and behavioral factors that encourage smoking. Fifty million adults still smoke; minorities, blue-collar workers, and less-educated people are more likely to smoke. Eighty percent of adult smokers were regular smokers before their 21st birthday. Thus, a major focus of smoking prevention must be young people; smoking prevention programs should be offered in all schools. Limits should be placed on access to tobacco by enforcement of existing laws, licensing vendors, and banning vending machines. The tobacco industry appeals to young people by an intense advertising campaign that has been criticized sharply by Louis Sullivan, Secretary of Health and Human Services. Tobacco consumption could be expected to drop if prices were raised. Physicians and dentists must mount better programs to encourage patients to stop smoking. Success in eliminating this dangerous habit will require cooperation among diverse agencies and groups. (Consumer Summary produced by Reliance Medical Information, Inc.)

Editorial, Laws, regulations and rules, Smoking and youth, Youth smoking

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Cigarette smoking trends - Wisconsin, 1950-1988

Article Abstract:

A study of the level of cigarette usage within Wisconsin was undertaken by analyzing the sales of cigarette packs to adults from 1950 to 1988. The data show changes in cigarette purchase, probably an accurate measure of use, that varied over time and were associated with external events. Reductions in sales (use) were seen following the release of the Surgeon General's report on the association of cigarette smoking and cancer in 1964, and during a 1969-1971 antismoking campaign which was required by the Federal Communications Commission. However, the largest and only sustained decline in cigarette sales occurred following an increase in the taxation on cigarettes and the simultaneous introduction of a Wisconsin law (Clean Indoor Air Act, 1983) which mandated smoking restrictions in government offices and other public places. The study seems to indicate that taxes and the change in rules relating to smoking cigarettes in public caused a decrease in cigarette use because of their continuing nature.

Reports, Environmental health, Wisconsin, Tobacco habit, Wisconsin. Division of Health

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