National

CDC releases new Youth Risk Behavior Survey (YRBS) data
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s (CDC) Division of Adolescent and School Health (DASH) has released the 2009 National Youth Risk Behavior Survey (YRBS) data. The national data showed that 46.3% of students had ever smoked a cigarette, and that 19.5% had smoked during the thirty days prior to taking the survey. Click here to visit the YRBS website and access the national and state data, or click here to read a report of the findings in a Surveillance Summary in the Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report (MMWR). DASH has also created a new YRBS data widget, a small web program that national, state, and local partners can put on their organization’s website to help disseminate YRBS results quickly and conveniently.

Smoking and age: The baby boomer bulge
The results of a recent Gallup poll show that while older Americans are generally less likely to smoke than younger people, smoking rates are higher among 44-54 year olds than among those in their thirties or over age 55. Telephone interviews that asked participants “Do you smoke?” were used to gather data from 353,849 adults in 2009 as part of the Gallup-Healthways Well-Being Index. The results of the survey show that smoking prevalence peaks among people in their 20s, drops at age 40, increases again between 44 and 54, and then decreases steadily in older age groups. Additionally, the poll found that men are more likely to smoke than women across all age groups, and blacks are more likely to smoke than whites or Hispanics. Comparable historical data is not available to compare past age trends, so the reasons behind the higher prevalence among 44-54 year olds is not yet clear. Read more here.

July AJPH issue focuses on systems modeling in tobacco control
The July 2010 issue of the American Journal of Public Health focuses on systems modeling in tobacco control, a combination of terms that juxtaposes a promising current trend in approaching complex public health problems next to one of the most serious health risks Americans face today. The tobacco problem has multiple levels of influence, including the biology of addiction, social norms, tobacco marketing, and government policies. Systems modeling allows researchers to examine the many facets of a problem to analyze synergies and unexpected outcomes. The goal of this issue of AJPH is to seek support and collaboration in modeling from a broad community of public health practitioners, and to show that systems modeling can support the development of novel, effective tobacco control strategies. Click here to access the July issue of AJPH.

Tobacco Control State Highlights 2010: Surveillance and Evaluation Supplement
The CDC Office on Smoking and Health (OSH) is pleased to release the Tobacco Control State Highlights 2010: Surveillance and Evaluation Supplement. This document is a supplement for staff engaged in monitoring and evaluating state tobacco control programs. The Supplement provides more detailed information about the Highlights indicators and discusses measurement and evaluation considerations relevant to interpreting the findings in the context of states’ overall surveillance and evaluation activities. Click here to access the supplement. Please note that this is a Web-only document.

New Collaboration Toolkit from Legacy
Legacy has published a new toolkit on collaboration. This toolkit is a companion piece to Legacy’s previous publication on collaboration entitled, “Building Effective Collaborations: Organizations Working Together in Tobacco Control.” It aims at helping tobacco control directors and program managers understand collaboration as a continuum of relationships and levels of engagement among the members of a collective effort. It can be used as a tool to find out where the current partnership projects are along the collaboration continuum and where they need to be to ensure that current collaborative strategies and elements match the desired project outcomes. This also assists organizations in assessing the effectiveness of current collaboration strategies and making appropriate changes. The toolkit is available online here.

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International

WHO FCTC Health Warnings Database
The World Health Organization (WHO) has developed a searchable database of pictorial health warnings that appear on tobacco product labels around the world. The database will be updated on a regular basis, and is designed to facilitate the sharing of pictorial health warnings and messages. The WHO Framework Convention on Tobacco Control (WHO FCTC) requires member countries to implement large, rotating health warnings on all tobacco product packaging and labeling, and recommends the use of eye-catching graphic health warnings. Pictorial health warnings on tobacco packages are a cost-effective means to increase public awareness about the dangers of tobacco use. While graphic tobacco warning labels are not mandated by federal law in the U.S., the Family Smoking Prevention and Tobacco Control Act permits states and localities to develop graphic warning labels. Click here to access the database.

A third of EU nationals light up still
A new Eurobarometer survey of over 30,000 Europeans shows that 29% of Europeans smoke, down only slightly from 32% in 2006. Of the smokers, 28% have attempted to quit in the past year, half of them more than once. Health, peer pressure, and the cost of cigarettes were listed as the top three reasons people attempted to quit. The majority of respondents (over 50%) reacted favorably to the following tobacco control measures: putting graphic pictures on tobacco products, having tobacco companies pay fees to offset tobacco-related health costs, keeping tobacco out of sight at retail outlets, and banning cigarette vending machines. Eurobarometer surveys are conducted twice a year by the European Commission. Click here to read more, or click here to access the full report or a report summary.

Differences by sex in tobacco use and awareness of tobacco marketing - Bangladesh, Thailand, and Uruguay, 2009
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has released a new Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report (MMWR) detailing the differences in tobacco use and awareness of tobacco marketing by sex in Bangladesh, Thailand, and Uruguay. Data from the Global Adult Tobacco Survey (GATS) were used to determine the prevalence of tobacco use and whether participants had noticed cigarette advertising or promotions in the previous thirty days. In each of the three countries, current tobacco use was higher among men than women, but the type of tobacco used varied by country and sex. In Bangladesh and Thailand, the smoking prevalence among females was much lower than among males, but smokeless tobacco use was similar between genders or higher in females. In Uruguay, smoking rates between the sexes were more comparable than in the other two countries, while smokeless tobacco use was almost nonexistent. In all three countries, awareness of cigarette advertising was greater among respondents aged 15-24 than among those 25 or older. Read the full report here, or click here for a summary of the findings.

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