American Lung Association releases the 2006 State Legislated Actions on Tobacco Issues (SLATI)
On Tuesday May 29th, the American Lung Association released the 2006 edition of State Legislated Actions on Tobacco Issues (SLATI). For those not familiar with SLATI, it is the American Lung Association's annual release of a compendium of state tobacco control laws in print form.  The 2006 edition tracks key state tobacco control laws as they stood on January 2, 2007. A PDF copy of the report is available on the SLATI website, which can be accessed by clicking here. The SLATI website is also home to an online version of SLATI that is updated throughout the year to reflect changes in tobacco control laws as they take effect.

The national social climate of tobacco control, 2000-2005
A recent survey report measures tobacco control’s position in society by using cross-sectional data to monitor trends for societal norms, practices/policies, and knowledge across seven areas: 1) family and friendship groups, 2) education, 3) government and political order, 4) work, 5) health and medical care, 6) recreation, leisure and sports, and 7) mass communication and culture. The survey includes items to measure progress toward intermediate objectives such as policy changes, changes in social norms, reductions in exposure of individuals to secondhand smoke, and rejection of pro-tobacco influences. Tobacco control impacts on normative beliefs, health beliefs and practices are classified into the following measures: universal (held by overwhelming majority - 85-100%), predominant (held by 65-85% of society), contested (held by 35-64% of society), and marginal (held by 0-34% of society). Data on attitudes about exposure to secondhand smoke in public places, shopping malls, convenience stores, restaurants, bars, indoor sporting events, parks, hotels, public sidewalks, entryways, and cars is presented. Click here to read more.

Exploring polytobacco use among an adult population
A recent study assessed polytobacco use trends (i.e. the use of cigarettes and at least one additional tobacco product) among American adults and identified common demographic characteristics of polytobacco users. Utilizing data from more than 50,000 adults in ten states, researchers estimated the prevalence of polytobacco use to be 3.4%, and more common among men (26.0%) than women (4.4%). Logistic regression revealed that factors associated with polytobacco use in men are younger age, less education and income, and greater than moderate alcohol consumption. To read more about the research published in Addictive Behaviors, click here.

MMWR Report: Decline in Smoking Prevalence NYC 2002-2006
From 2002 to 2006, New York City implemented comprehensive tobacco control measures including increased tobacco tax, smoke-free workplaces, and hard-hitting educational campaigns. After a decade with no progress, New York City’s smoking rate declined from 21.6% in 2002 to 17.5% in 2006. After the decline stalled in 2005, in 2006 NYC ran a year-long hard-hitting media campaign to motivate more smokers to quit. From 2005 to 2006, smoking decreased sharply among males (from 22.5% to 19.9%) and among Hispanics (from 20.2% to 17.1%). By 2006 there were 240,000 fewer smokers in New York City than there were in 2002. This reduction will prevent at least 80,000 deaths from smoking-related causes. Click here to read the report.

Passive smoking kills 100,000 Chinese annually
The Chinese Ministry of Health recently released the 2007 Report on China’s Smoking Control, the first of its kind for the country. The report indicates that 540 million Chinese have to bear the effects of secondhand smoke, and 100,000 die annually from diseases associated with secondhand smoke exposure. The number of Chinese smokers was estimated at 350 million, while the number of deaths attributable to smoking reached one million. To read more, click here.

Smoking deadlier than AIDS in 2015
The World Health Organization’s (WHO) World Health Statistics 2007 report indicates that tobacco-related deaths could exceed deaths attributable to HIV and AIDS by 50% before the year 2015. That estimate translates into AIDS killing 4.3 million people and tobacco products killing 6.4 million worldwide. By 2030, tobacco-related deaths are expected to increase to 8.3 million. Click here to read more.

Thailand: Smoking prevalence has dropped 40 percent in the last 20 years
The Thailand Public Health Ministry recently reported that the number of Thai smokers has dropped from 11.7 million in 1987 to 9.54 million today, due to the implementation of seven anti-smoking laws and various campaigns. The report was released shortly before the commencement of World No Tobacco Day, which the country celebrated by concentrating on the effects of secondhand smoke. Click here to read more.

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