National

Issue brief: The Emergence of New Smokeless Tobacco Products
The American Lung Association released a report titled “The Emergence of New Smokeless Tobacco Products” that examines the newer and novel smokeless tobacco products such as snus and dissolvables, and provides an overview of what is known about the health risks of these products. It also contains recommendations to address potential public health challenges related to them. Click here to access this report. Click here to access the American Lung Association’s page with other tobacco-related reports and resources.

Issue brief: Big Tobacco's Next Frontier
The American Lung Association’s new report, “Big Tobacco’s Next Frontier,” looks at tobacco products that are being introduced into the tobacco market as replacements for traditional cigarettes. These include both smoked and non-combustible products, such as cigars and smokeless tobacco. This report examines the public health problems these products pose and provides recommendations about how best to address these problems, especially since the products are believed to be marketed to youth. Click here to access the full report.

Current cigarette smoking among adults — United States, 2011
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention released a new Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report (MMWR) that assessed the prevalence of smoking among adults in the U.S. Data from the 2011 National Health Interview Survey (NHIS) were used to estimate the current national cigarette smoking prevalence and measure the nation’s progress toward the Healthy People 2020 (HP2020) objective to reduce cigarette smoking prevalence among adults to 12%. No significant changes were reported in adult cigarette smoking prevalence; the results showed rates at 19.0% in 2011 compared to 19.3% in 2010. There was a significant reduction in the proportion of adult smokers who smoked more than 30 cigarettes per day from 12.5% in 2005 to 9.1% in 2011. However, there was a significant increase in the proportion of smokers who smoked between 1 to 9 cigarettes per day. Increased population-based efforts are needed in order to reach the HP2020 goal of reducing cigarette use among adults: anti-tobacco media campaigns, increases in tobacco prices, and barrier-free access to tobacco cessation services. Click here to access the full report. Click here to read a statement released by the American Cancer Society on this report that applauds the decrease in numbers, but suggests that more work still needs to be done.

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International

Smokers miss work more often, cost workplaces billions: Study
A meta-analysis of 29 studies conducted in Europe, Australia, New Zealand, the U.S. and Japan between 1960 and 2011 finds that smokers are absent from work more often compared to nonsmokers, leading to billions of dollars in loss in the workplace. Data were gathered from surveys distributed to workers about their current and former smoking habits in conjunction with medical and employee records to track smoking habits and absenteeism from work during a two year period. Current smokers were reported to be 33% more likely to miss work compared to nonsmokers, and missed an average of 2.7 more days of work per year. Current smokers also missed more days than ex-smokers. Smoking-related absenteeism resulted in a $2.25 billion loss in the United Kingdom along with a loss in productivity and related fire damage. Supporting employees in quitting smoking is a way for employers to reduce these costs and improve the overall health of workers. Click here to read more about this study. Click here to access the study abstract published in Addiction.

Who smokes most: A surprising map of smoking rates by country
Data released by the World Lung Foundation and American Cancer Society highlight the smoking rates by country in 71 countries. Eastern Europe had the highest smoking rates with the average annual cigarette consumption at more than 2,000 per person. The countries with the next highest rates of smoking were South Korea, Kazakhstan, and Japan in that order. China is the largest consumer of cigarettes in the world, but its per capita cigarette consumption is still lower than in Korea and Japan; the countries consumed 1,711, 1,958, and 1,841 cigarettes per person, respectively. The U.S. smoking rates were ranked 34th at about 1,000 cigarettes per person per year. The regions with the lowest smoking rates were Sub-Saharan Africa and South Asia. Research shows that tobacco use continues to be the most preventable cause of illness and death worldwide. Click here to read more. Click here to access the full report.

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