Nov. 05--While smoking bans are stomping out cigarettes in restaurants, taverns and other businesses, federal and local health officials are concerned that tobacco companies are undermining efforts to reduce smoking by marketing new smokeless tobacco products as substitutes for cigarettes where smoking isn't allowed.
"Use of smokeless tobacco may keep some people from quitting tobacco altogether," Tom Frieden, director of the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, said Thursday. "We need to intensify our anti-tobacco efforts to help people quit using all forms of tobacco."
Frieden's warning came as the CDC released a new report detailing the prevalence of cigarette use, state by state. The prevalence of Wisconsin adults who smoke cigarettes dropped 1 percentage point from 2008 to 2009, to 18.8%, according to the report. The percentage has inched downward in recent decades; it was 27.8% in 1984, when CDC began breaking out data by state.
Tobacco use is the nation's No. 1 cause of preventable death, as smoking can lead to cancer, heart disease and emphysema. Research suggests that those who use multiple tobacco products may have more difficulty quitting. The CDC report found that in 32 states, more than 10% of male smokers also were using smokeless tobacco.
The CDC's number crunching provides dramatic new evidence of the effectiveness of scientifically proven strategies to reduce tobacco use, including higher tobacco taxes, strong smoke-free workplace laws and well-financed tobacco prevention and cessation programs, the Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids said in a statement Thursday.
States with the lowest smoking rates have implemented these measures, according to an analysis by the Washington D.C.-based group.
The 11 states with the lowest smoking rates -- there was a tie for 10th -- had an average cigarette tax of $2.19 per pack at the end of 2009, while the 10 states with the highest smoking rates had an average cigarette tax of 62 cents. Wisconsin's cigarette tax is $2.52 and the average cost per pack is $7 to $8. Wisconsin ranks in the middle nationwide for cigarette smoking prevalence among adults.
All 11 states with the lowest smoking rates have strong smoke-free laws that include restaurants and bars; none of the 10 states with the highest rates has such a law, the Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids concluded.
Effective state programs for tobacco use prevention and cessation are the third prong of the fight to reduce smoking. But states have cut total funding for these programs by 28%, according to the Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids.
States that have slashed tobacco control funding, such as Florida and Massachusetts, have seen smoking rates increase, according to SmokeFree Wisconsin. Wisconsin is at risk of heading down the same path, said Maureen Busalacchi, executive director of SmokeFree Wisconsin.
The state Legislature cut funding in half for the Wisconsin Tobacco Prevention and Control Program in the last biennial budget.
Meanwhile, the Legislature raised the sales tax on cigarettes last fall. It also passed a smoking ban in public places that took effect July 5.
The smoking ban is making a difference, said Rob Adsit, director of outreach programs for the University of Wisconsin Center for Tobacco Research and Intervention.
"When there are fewer places people can smoke indoors, people say it's time to quit if they have been thinking about it anyway," Adsit said. "It's a policy that nudges people who are sitting on the fence."
Calls to the Wisconsin Tobacco Quit Line, which provides free cessation counseling to Wisconsin residents, rose almost 20% in July, Adsit said. Primary care physicians refer a fourth to a third of the callers to the Wisconsin Tobacco Quit Line, he said.
The Quit Line is able to handle 1,200 to 1,500 calls a month, and calls have been steady in the past year, Adsit said.
"The majority of callers are pretty serious about making a quit attempt," he said.
It takes the average smoker seven to eight attempts before they quit successfully, Adsit said. Some quit cold turkey, but fewer than 5% who quit without medication or counseling are successful, he said.
"Research shows you'll be four times more successful with counseling and medication."
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