Tobacco Use: Monitoring Tobacco Control Programs

Monitoring individual behavior is important, but is not sufficient, for understanding all the dynamics of tobacco control. Social and environmental forces exert a strong influence on whether and how much people use tobacco. Tobacco control efforts are funded and carried out primarily at the state level, and we actively monitor the progress of these efforts. Here is some of what we've learned.

Cigarette Smoking Prevalence & Policies in 50 States

A 2009 chartbook, released by the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation (RWJF) and Bridging the Gap, an RWJF-funded, nationally recognized research program, presents state and national data on tobacco prevalence, policies implemented to diminish that prevalence, and programs and policies to help smokers quit. Key findings from the report, Cigarette Smoking Prevalence and Policies in 50 States: An Era of Change (available at http://www.impacteen.org/chartbooks.htm), using data covering a period of 16 years from NCI's Tobacco Use Supplement to the Current Population Survey (TUS-CPS) include:

• Between 1992/93 and 2006/07, the percentage of U.S. adults living in smoke-free homes increased by 84 percent, from 43.1 percent in 1992/93 to 79.1 percent in 2006/07.
• In 1992/93 only 46.1 percent of indoor workers reported having a smoke-free policy at work. In 2006/07, 75 percent of indoor workers had a smoke-free policy in their workplace.
• Across all states, cigarette excise tax revenues increased from $10.35 billion in fiscal year (FY) 2002 (adjusted to April 2008 dollars) to an estimated $15.25 billion in FY 2007, an increase of 47 percent.

Additional Data

• In 2006-07, nearly 75.3 percent of the US workforce worked under a smoke-free policy, but this percentage varies widely among states. Also during that time, 79.1 percent of people ages 18 and older reported that smoking is not allowed in their home. These represent significant increases since 1992-93 but indicate that there is still room for improvement. Females and persons in the Northeast are more likely to work in smoke-free work environments.
• Results from the 1992-93 Tobacco Use Supplement to the Current Population Survey had suggested that there was broad support among Maryland residents for restrictions on smoking in the workplace. In 1994, the Maryland Occupational Safety and Health (MOSH) advisory board proposed a complete smoking ban in most Maryland workplaces to protect Maryland workers from the documented health risks associated with environmental tobacco smoke exposure. Maryland was ranked seventh in the country in reports of smoke-free workplaces by indoor workers, according to the 2001-02 Tobacco Use Supplement.
• North Carolina Legislature Takes Historic Stand for Smoke-Free Air. North Carolina Is First Tobacco-Growing State to Make All Restaurants and Bars Smoke-Free. The bill was signed into law on May 19, 2009. We applaud the North Carolina legislators who championed this legislation, including bill sponsors Representative Hugh Holliman and Senator Bill Purcell, as well as the North Carolina Alliance for Health. The smoke-free law will take effect on January 2, 2010.