Tobacco.org

State officials try to put big dent in smoking 

Arizona's 15 counties will blitz churches, Block Watch groups, social-service agencies, schools and neighborhood associations with anti-tobacco information beginning this fall, under the Arizona Department of Health Services' new battle against tobacco.

With the tobacco-tax revenue that funds the programs declining, state and local public-health officials hope to get the biggest bang for the buck by shifting from today's generic anti-tobacco messages to focus on specific groups of nicotine users.

Officials expect about a 17 percent drop in tobacco-tax revenue next fiscal year to about $21 million from about $25 million this year. Health officials said it's unclear if the decline represents a decrease in tobacco use or a move toward buying smokes online and on Native American reservations.

"The smoking rate (in Arizona) is sort of in a stuck mode,"

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