Tobacco.org

Communities Putting Prevention to Work Project Descriptions 

Under the Community Initiative, the communities receiving awards are diverse and highlights of these projects are grouped below by type of project:

* Communities Funded for Both Obesity and Tobacco

* Large Cities with Obesity Projects

* Large Cities with Tobacco Projects

* Urban Area Tobacco Projects

* Small Cities/Rural Areas Obesity Projects

* Small Cities/Rural Areas Tobacco Projects

* Obesity Projects by Tribes

* Tobacco Projects by Tribes

Communities Funded for Both Obesity and Tobacco

(1) Boston Public Health Commission, Massachusetts $12.5 Million (Obesity $6.4 Million, Tobacco $6.1 Million) . . .

The Commission's tobacco prevention effort will engage youth and community members in policy efforts to reduce youth tobacco use and exposure, including reducing exposure of youth and communities of color to tobacco industry marketing. A smoke-free homes initiative will result in 1,000 new units of smoke-free housing in Boston. Finally, the initiative will ensure the availability of multilingual smoking cessation services to Boston residents and build public awareness to utilize services. To ensure sustainability, the project will embed smoking cessation referral systems in electronic health records and provide training and technical assistance to health care professionals in accessing health insurance reimbursement for smoking cessation services.

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Communities Putting Prevention to Work Grant Information 

2. Tobacco Prevention Awards

$142.8 million

Select a State to see Grantee Communities:

Alabama

* Jefferson County Department of Health, Alabama

o $13.3 Million for obesity and tobacco prevention

+ $6.3 Million for obesity prevention

+ $7 Million for tobacco prevention . . .

California

* County of Los Angeles Department of Public Health, California

o $32.1 Million for obesity and tobacco prevention

+ $15.9 Million for obesity prevention

+ $16.2 Million for tobacco prevention

* County of San Diego Health & Human Services Agency, California

o $16.1 Million for obesity prevention

* County of Santa Clara Public Health Department, California

o $6.9 Million for tobacco prevention

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• 30-M Filipinos exposed to cigarette smoke at home 

Some 29.8 million Filipinos are exposed to cigarette smoke inside their homes, a national survey said, prompting health authorities to campaign against smoking even inside homes and in public places.

The first Global Adult Tobacco Survey (GATS) revealed that "almost half of Filipinos," or 48.8 percent of those who were surveyed, are inhaling tobacco smoke inside their dwellings while 54 percent, representing 32.9 million of the population reported that someone smokes inside their homes.

The GATS 2009 gathered a total of 9,705 individuals 15 years old and above living in rural and urban areas nationwide. The number represents 61.3 million Filipinos in this age bracket.

Interestingly, the knowledge, perception and attitude of the surveyed population on the ill effects of tobacco smoking were high.

Ninety-four percent of them know that smoking causes serious diseases; 95.6 percent believe that smoking can cause lung cancer, 81.3 percent believe smoking can lead to heart attack, and 75.5 percent are aware that smoking can cause stroke.

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State "Smoker Protection" Laws 

California 2005 CA LABOR CODE § 96(k) & 98.6

Colorado 1990 CO REV. STAT. ANN § 24-34-402.5

Connecticut 2003 CT GEN. STAT. ANN. § 31-40s

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THE PACT ACT (PDF) 

The Prevent All Cigarette Trafficking Act of 2009 (the PACT Act) will fight crime and increase government revenues by ensuring the collection of federal, state and local tobacco taxes on cigarettes and smokeless tobacco sold via the Internet or other mail-order sales. By reducing the availability of tax-evading, low-cost cigarettes over the Internet – and stopping Internet sales of cigarettes to kids – the PACT Act will also prevent and reduce smoking and its many harms and costs.

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Market Information  

Philip Morris USA has been in operation since 1847. Since 1983, PM USA has been the largest cigarette manufacturer in the United States.

PM USA is focused on responsibly manufacturing and marketing its brands to adult tobacco consumers in a financially disciplined way. In 2008, PM USA's retail cigarette share grew 0.1 share point to 50.7 percent.

U.S. cigarette industry volume declined about 4% in 2008. Nevertheless, the cigarette industry accounted for an estimated $70 billion in consumer expenditures in 2008 and had an estimated industry profit pool of $9 billion in pre-tax income.

Our cigarette product portfolio is led by Marlboro. It is the number one cigarette brand in every state and the number one cigarette brand for men and women across all adult age groups. . . .

2008 U.S. Cigarette Industry Facts

* Approximately 45 million adults in America smoked cigarettes

* U.S. consumers spent an estimated $70 billion annually on cigarettes

* We estimate that cigarette industry before-tax profits exceeded $9 billion

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• Declining Death Rates Reflect Progress against Cancer 

Conclusions/Significance

Progress in reducing cancer death rates is evident whether measured against baseline rates in 1970 or in 1990. The downturn in cancer death rates since 1990 result mostly from reductions in tobacco use, increased screening allowing early detection of several cancers, and modest to large improvements in treatment for specific cancers. Continued and increased investment in cancer prevention and control, access to high quality health care, and research could accelerate this progress. . . .

Advances in prevention, early detection, and treatment all have contributed to this progress in reducing death rates from cancer [2], [17], [18], [19], [20]. The decreases in death rates from lung cancer and other smoking-related cancers resulted mostly from reductions in smoking prevalence since the 1950s [2], [21]. Most of the reduction in lung cancer death rates observed since in 1990 in men and since in 2002 in women represents smoking cessation that began among educated men and women in 1950s; the full benefits of reduced initiation among adolescents will emerge in the future as these generations age. Between 1965 and 2006, current smoking prevalence among all U.S. adults 18 year and above decreased by 54% (from 51% to 24%) in men and by 46% (from 34% to 18%) in women [22]. Despite these substantial reductions in smoking prevalence and mortality from smoking-related cancers, cigarette smoking still accounts for approximately 30% of all cancer deaths, with lung cancer contributing most (80%) of these deaths [23]. About 45 million adults continue to smoke cigarettes. Decreasing initiation and increasing cessation through proven tobacco control interventions continue to be important priorities for reducing cancer mortality in the short and long term. . . .

The greater decrease in the overall cancer death rates in men than women largely due to differences in mortality trends from lung cancer which accounts for about 80% of all smoking attributable cancer deaths and nearly 30% of the total cancer deaths in the U.S. [21], [58], [59]. Lung cancer death rates have continued to decrease since 1990 in men, while they continued to increase through the mid 2000 in women. Trends in lung cancer also explain, in part, why the decrease in overall cancer deaths rates began earlier and were larger in proportionate terms in the younger than in the older age groups. Smoking prevalence and lung cancer peaked in those men born around 1920s and in women born around the late 1930s, now in their 70–90s. Younger cancer patients are also more likely to receive aggressive treatment and to participate in clinical trials [17].

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Study finds cancer mortality has declined since initiation of 'war on cancer' 

A new American Cancer Society study finds progress in reducing cancer death rates is evident whether measured against baseline rates in 1970 or in 1990. The study appears in the open access journal PLos ONE, and finds a downturn in cancer death rates since 1990 results mostly from reductions in tobacco use, increased screening allowing early detection of several cancers, and modest to large improvements in treatment for specific cancers.

Temporal trends in death rates are the most reliable measure of progress against cancer, reflecting improvements in prevention, early detection, and treatment. Although age-standardized cancer death rates in the U.S. have been decreasing since the early 1990s, some reports have cited limited improvement in death rates as evidence that the "war on cancer", which was initiated in 1971, has failed. Many of these analyses fail to account for the dominant and dramatic increase in cancer death rates due to tobacco-related cancers in the latter part of the 20th century. . . .

"Contrary to the pessimistic news from the popular media, overall cancer death rates have decreased substantially in both men and women whether measured against baseline rates in 1970/71 when the National Cancer Act was signed by President Nixon or when measured against the peak rates in 1990/91.," write the authors. Despite those gains, the authors caution against complacency. "Continued and increased investment in cancer prevention and control, access to high quality health care, and research could accelerate this progress," they conclude.

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Fewer Hoosiers lighting up 

Preliminary 2009 data show Indiana will post its lowest adult smoking rate in more than a decade, at the same time Gov. Mitch Daniels is calling for the elimination of the stand-alone tobacco prevention agency.

The administration is pushing a number of cost-saving measures for the state budget, including abolishing the Tobacco Use Prevention and Cessation executive board – created in 2000. The assets and duties of the board would be transferred to the Indiana State Department of Health.

Senate Republicans voted for the change, but progress has stalled in final negotiations with House Democrats.

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Overall smoking down, tobacco use among kids levels off 

A new report shows fewer Iowans are buying cigarettes, but the percentage of young people using tobacco has leveled off. The 2009 Tobacco Control Progress Report was compiled by researchers at the University of Northern Iowa.

It shows cigarette consumption in the state dropped 52% from 2006 to 2009. Cathy Callaway, chair of the Iowa Tobacco Use Prevention and Control Commission, gives credit to the buck-a-pack hike in the cigarette excise tax in 2007 and the 2008 Smokefree Air Act. The news is offset by very slight changes in tobacco use among young people.

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• Iowa Department of Public Health: Cigarette sales drop 52 percent, but teens still at risk  

Iowans are smoking less, though young people continue to be at risk for starting. That's according to a report released today by the Iowa Department of Public Health (IDPH).

Conducted by the University of Northern Iowa's Center for Behavioral Research, the 2009 Tobacco Control Progress Report shows that Iowa and the state health department have made a number of advances in reducing smoking since 2000. Most recently, the report finds there has been a dramatic decrease in cigarette consumption in Iowa. Data from the Iowa Department of Revenue show that cigarette sales in Iowa remained steady from 2000 to 2006. Since that time, however, per capita consumption of cigarettes has plummeted from 112 to 54 in 2009.

"The fact that Iowans are smoking half as many cigarettes now is clearly attributable to the $1 cigarette excise tax in 2007 and the 2008 Smokefree Air Act," said Cathy Callaway, chair of the Iowa Tobacco Use Prevention & Control Commission. "The importance of policies like these in improving health and saving lives cannot be underestimated." . . .

Data from more than 60 sources were reviewed in producing the Iowa 2009 Tobacco Progress Report. For more information, visit http://www.idph.state.ia.us/tobacco and look under "Tobacco Program Evaluations and Progress Reports."

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40 percent of EP secondary school students smoke 

Forty percent of secondary school students in the Eastern Province are regular smokers with 27 percent of them having developed the habit before they were ten years old, said Saleh A. Al-Abbad, Director of the Anti-Smoking Charitable Association in the Eastern Province.

He said that according to a recent survey conducted by his association in the province’s three major cities of Dammam, Al-Khobar and Dhahran, most students became addicted through their friends and neighbors.

The number of smokers in the Kingdom in general has increased tremendously and the Eastern Province has the highest rate of cancer in both men and women, Al-Abbad told Saudi Gazette in an exclusive interview.

Through the concerted efforts of his association, he said, over 700 smokers in the Eastern Province were able to kick the habit. They were persuaded to do so through intense clinical therapy and awareness campaigns, he explained.

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Cancer war’s local front 

MOULTRIE -- Kicking the tobacco habit and shedding some pounds produce benefits beyond cutting the risks of a heart attack or stroke. They also could dramatically reduce the risk of dying of cancer.

Of the more than 562,340 cancer deaths in the United States last year, one-third are the results of tobacco use and an equal amount are attributable to being overweight, Dr. Phillip Roberts, director of the Phoebe Cancer Center told Moultrie Rotary Club members Tuesday.

The high percentage of Southwest Georgians who are obese or overweight and/or use tobacco also are reflected in the cancer deaths. The U.S. average in 2009 was 186.9 deaths per 100,000 population, compared to 193.7 in Colquitt County and 201.9 percent in Dougherty County. Georgia's rate for 2009 was 193 deaths per 100,000 population.

"The extent to which our cancer rates are higher has more to do with our lifestyles than your health care systems," Roberts said. Last year in Georgia there were 14,970 cancer deaths. Of those 4,660 were from lung cancer

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• Military seeks to clear the air for troops 

"It's just so easy to smoke when you're on an aircraft carrier," said the 30-year-old Missouri native. "You're cooped up on an aircraft carrier for 45 days, working 14 hours a day, with no social life. The smoke deck, it's the only social environment."

Pantazo sat recently with eight other servicemen at a smoking-cessation workshop at Naval Base Ventura County in Port Hueneme, Calif. . . .

A 2009 study by the Veterans Health Administration, part of the Department of Veterans Affairs, found that 50 percent of U.S. troops serving in Iraq and Afghanistan come home addicted to tobacco.

"You can face death at any moment," explained Petty Officer 1st Class John Vissing, who helps run the Port Hueneme naval base's Tobacco-Cessation Program. "I can tell you, it's always present -- from rockets or weapons."

The multiple deployment cycles aggravate a smoker's desire to quit, too, he said. A soldier or sailor might figure he or she is going to face the stress of combat again in four or five months, so why bother to quit? . . .

Those at the workshop said they are immersed in a tobacco culture in the military.

"I don't smoke for two months, then you walk back to the barracks and there are 20 guys smoking," Pantazo said.

A June 2009 report released by the Institute of Medicine recommends that the Department of Defense strive for a tobacco-free military, adding that the DOD spends more than $1.6 billion each year on tobacco-related medical care and lost productivity. The report urges both the DOD and the Department of Veterans Affairs to implement comprehensive tobacco-control programs.

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• U.S. military addresses tobacco-addiction concerns 

"It's just so easy to smoke when you're on an aircraft carrier," said the 30-year-old Missouri native. "You're cooped up on an aircraft carrier for 45 days, working 14 hours a day, with no social life. The smoke deck, it's the only social environment."

Pantazo sat recently with eight other servicemen at a smoking-cessation workshop at Naval Base Ventura County in Port Hueneme, Calif. . . .

A 2009 study by the Veterans Health Administration, part of the Department of Veterans Affairs, found that 50 percent of U.S. troops serving in Iraq and Afghanistan come home addicted to tobacco.

"You can face death at any moment," explained Petty Officer 1st Class John Vissing, who helps run the Port Hueneme naval base's Tobacco-Cessation Program. "I can tell you, it's always present -- from rockets or weapons."

The multiple deployment cycles aggravate a smoker's desire to quit, too, he said. A soldier or sailor might figure he or she is going to face the stress of combat again in four or five months, so why bother to quit? . . .

Those at the workshop said they are immersed in a tobacco culture in the military.

"I don't smoke for two months, then you walk back to the barracks and there are 20 guys smoking," Pantazo said.

A June 2009 report released by the Institute of Medicine recommends that the Department of Defense strive for a tobacco-free military, adding that the DOD spends more than $1.6 billion each year on tobacco-related medical care and lost productivity. The report urges both the DOD and the Department of Veterans Affairs to implement comprehensive tobacco-control programs.

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