Well-funded programs lead to drop in cigarette sales

AORN Journal, Feb, 2004

Cigarette sales dropped more than twice as much in states that spend more on comprehensive tobacco control programs compared to the United States as a whole, according to a Sept 18, 2003, news release from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). Between 1990 and 2000, sales decreased an average of 43% in four states with large program expenditures--Arizona, California, Massachusetts, and Oregon--compared to 20% for all states. Program funding levels accounted for a substantial portion of this difference, with increasing expenditures producing bigger and faster declines in sales.

This study is the first analysis to include cigarette sales data from all states and to isolate the impact of tobacco control program expenditures by controlling for changes in cigarette excise taxes, cross-border cigarette sates, and other state-specific factors. Previous research has suggested that cigarette excise taxes lead to the largest and most immediate decline in cigarette sales, but that this effect erodes over time. Although the new study confirms the strong effect of tax increases, it clearly shows that investments in tobacco control programs also have a strong effect that appears to grow as programs continue to dedicate resources to curbing tobacco use.

Tobacco-attributable disease accounts for 440,000 deaths per year in the United States and remains the leading cause of preventable death and disease. Tobacco use accounts for more than $150 billion annually in direct and indirect medical costs, and at least 8.6 million Americans are living with a serious illness caused by tobacco use.

According to the CDC's "Best practices for comprehensive tobacco control programs," effective state-based programs generally include

* community and school programs and policies;

* counter-marketing campaigns;

* cessation programs, including telephone quit lines;

* program monitoring and evaluation; and

* staffing and management.

Currently, the overall average per capita funding for tobacco control is $1.22, far below the CDC's minimum recommended level of $5.98.

New Study Shows State Tobacco Control Programs Cut Cigarette Sales (news release, Atlanta: Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Sept 18, 2003) http://www.cdc.gov/od/oc/media/pressrel/rO30918.htm (accessed 23 Sept 2003).