State

Cigarette sales, smokers decline (CA)
According to a report from the California State Board of Equalization, Californians purchased 8.1% fewer cigarettes in 2009 than in 2008, the steepest sales drop seen in the state in ten years. Several factors are expected to have contributed to the decline, including increases in health consciousness, the passage of smokefree air laws, and higher cigarette retail prices. Federal and state tax increases have resulted in a total of $1.89 per pack in taxes, and manufacturers have increased prices by about 4.2% due to decreased demand for tobacco products. Since 1980, cigarette sales in California have dropped 65.6%, averaging at about a 3.5% decrease per year. Read more here.

Washington's adult smoking rate now third lowest in the nation (WA)
New data show that in 2009, the adult smoking prevalence in Washington State dropped to a new low of 14.8%, the third-lowest in the nation. Through the Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System, over 20,000 Washington adults were surveyed in 2009 about their tobacco use and other health behaviors. Although there was an overall decline in cigarette smoking since 2008, the smoking rates among those with low incomes and less education remain disparately high. The decline is attributed to a strong statewide smokefree law, a high cigarette tax, and Washington’s comprehensive Tobacco Prevention and Control Program (TPCP). Since the TPCP started in 2000, the state quitline has received over 150,000 calls and statewide smoking rates have declined by a third. Click here to read a press release from the Washington Department of Health. Related: To keep reducing smoking, Washington leaders must restore funding for successful tobacco prevention program Despite the Washington Tobacco Prevention and Control Program’s success, state tobacco control funding has been cut by 40%, and will be depleted by June 2011 unless lawmakers provide new funding. According to a statement from the Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids, Washington’s tobacco program has been a sound investment, but much work still needs to be done. Tobacco use remains the leading preventable cause of death in Washington. Click here to read more.

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National

Any tobacco use in 13 states - Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System, 2008
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) have released a Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report (MMWR) describing the use of tobacco in thirteen states that perform population surveys that ask about the use of tobacco products other than cigarettes. The CDC analyzed data from the 2008 Behavior Risk Factor Surveillance System (BRFSS), a state-based telephone survey of civilian adults, to determine the prevalence of the use of any tobacco products, cigarettes only, and the use of multiple tobacco products (polytobacco use). The data show the prevalence of any tobacco use ranged from 18.4% (NJ) to 35.0% (WV); cigarette use ranged from 14.6% (NJ) to 26.6% (WV), and polytobacco use ranged from 1.0% (NJ) to 3.7% (WV). Polytobacco use was most prevalent among those who were male, single, aged 18-24, lower-income, and had no more than a high school education. These results suggest that tailored prevention and cessation programs addressing all forms of tobacco use and directed toward young adults and males may be most effective. Click here for more information, or read the full report.

Smoking in popular motion pictures – United States, 1991-2009
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) have released a report describing the extent to which tobacco use is shown in popular movies. The number of times tobacco use appeared on screen (incidents) was counted in the fifty top-grossing films each year from 1991-2001 and in all of the top ten grossing movies in any calendar week from 2002-2009. After adjusting for the differences in methods between the two timeframes, the annual number of incidents fluctuated from 2,106 to 3,386 between 1991 and 1997, plummeted to 1,612 in 1998, peaked at 3,967 in 2005, then declined steadily afterwards to reach 1,935 in 2009. In 2009, the overall percentage of top-grossing movies that did not show tobacco use exceeded 50% for the first time, and 61% of top-grossing youth-rated movies (G, PG, or PG-13) did not show tobacco, also an all-time high. Youth who have been heavily exposed to onscreen smoking are two to three times more likely to begin smoking than youths who are less frequently exposed, so a continued reduction of tobacco use in popular movies could help youth prevention efforts. Click here to read the full article in the Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report (MMWR).

New data available from the State Tobacco Activities Tracking and Evaluation (STATE) System
The State Tobacco Activities Tracking and Evaluation (STATE) System from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has been updated with new data. The STATE System is an electronic data warehouse containing up-to-date and historical state-level tobacco use prevention and control data. New data include: second quarter 2010 data from the Office on Smoking and Health regarding tobacco laws; 2009 Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System (BRFSS) data on adult cessation, cigarette use, and current smoking data; and 2009 Youth Risk Behavior Surveillance System (YRBSS) data on youth tobacco use. Click here to access the STATE System.

NALBOH's Public Health Snapshots by State
This project, started in January 2010 by NALBOH staff, focuses on compiling public health data for each state. The data include education and training sources, community health statistics, public health partnerships, board of health state statutes, and more. The fact sheets are designed to be a resource for board of health members and public health professionals nationwide. As of August 2010, fact sheets are available for thirteen states; additional fact sheets will be released through January 2011. Click here to access the fact sheets.

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International

Tobacco smoking in seven Latin American cities: the CARMELA study
A study investigating tobacco smoking in seven major Latin American cities has found that the smoking prevalence is high in the all of the cities studied, although smoking patterns varied among them. The Cardiovascular Risk Factor Multiple Evaluation in Latin America (CARMELA) study gathered information from 11,550 adults aged 25-64 to assess cardiovascular risk factors, including the use of cigarettes, cigars, and pipes. Age of smoking initiation, daily cigarette consumption, quit attempts, and secondhand smoke exposure were also assessed. The analysis showed that smoking prevalence ranged from 21.8% in Barquisimeto, Venezuela to 45.4% in Santiago, Chile; the highest prevalence among males was found in Santiago and Quito, Ecuador (47.7% and 49.4%, respectively), while the highest prevalence among females was found in Santiago and Buenos Aires, Argentina (43.3% and 37.7%, respectively). Smoking was much more prevalent among males aged 25-44 than among those 45 and older. The authors note that Latin American cities can use the data to guide and develop tobacco control policies, thereby decreasing their burden of tobacco-related disease. Read the abstract of the article, published in Tobacco Control.

Smoking in China 'as serious as SARS': WHO (China)
New data from the Global Adult Tobacco Survey (GATS) released by the Chinese Centers for Disease Control and Prevention show widespread tobacco use in China, prompting a World Health Organization (WHO) official to comment that tobacco addiction in China deserves the same level of attention as SARS or H1N1 outbreaks. To gather data for GATS, a total of 13,354 Chinese individuals aged fifteen and older were surveyed from October 2009 to May 2010 on their tobacco use, smoking cessation, secondhand smoke exposure, economics, media, and knowledge and perceptions. The results show that 52.9% of Chinese men and 2.4% of women smoke, for an overall prevalence of 28.1%. Additionally, each week, 70% of Chinese adults are exposed to secondhand smoke, and only about 25% believe that smoking and smoke exposure can lead to stroke, heart attack, and lung cancer. WHO officials also stressed the importance of using the new data to implement the proven and effective tobacco control measures outlined in the Framework Convention on Tobacco Control. Click here to read more, or click here to read the press release from the WHO.

Survey: Japan's smoking population drops to record low (Japan)
A nationwide survey conducted by Japan Tobacco indicates that the prevalence of smoking in Japan has dropped for the 15th year in a row, setting a new record low of 23.9%. To gather information about the smoking rates in the country, the company mailed a questionnaire to 32,000 Japanese adults, of which 64% responded. The results show that the total number of smokers decreased by 2.3% since last year, with the rate among men decreasing from 38.9% to 36.6% and the rate among women increasing slightly from 11.9% to 12.1%. The company speculates that the aging of the population, increasing health concerns, the implementation of smokefree laws, and tax increases have contributed to the decline. Japan Tobacco began compiling annual data on smoking rates in 1965. Click here to view Japan Tobacco’s press release about the survey, or here to read about the methods used to collect data.

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