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Tobacco
Use
Among
Adults
in
Arizona:
1996
and
1999
MMWR Highlights
May 25, 2001 / Vol. 50 / No. 20
- Smoking
prevalence
among
Arizona
adults
aged
18
years
or
older
dropped
significantly
from
1996
(23.1
percent)
to
1999
(18.3
percent)
following
the
implementation
of
the
Arizona
Tobacco
Education
and
Prevention
Program
(TEPP).
- In
1994,
Arizona
passed
legislation
increasing
the
tax
on
cigarettes
from
18
cents
to
58
cents
and
allocated
23
percent
of
the
resulting
revenues
for
tobacco
control
activities.
Following
the
implementation
of
TEPP,
smoking
prevalence
declined
in
several
populations
from
1996
to
1999,
including
women
(from
21.3
percent
to
16.9
percent),
men
(from
25.3
percent
to
19.7
percent),
whites
(from
23.4
percent
to
19.1
percent),
and
Hispanics
(from
21.9
percent
to
13.7
percent).
- The
decrease
in
smoking
prevalence
among
low
income
and
low
education
groups
in
Arizona
indicates
a
decrease
in
disparities
in
cigarette
use.
The
most
substantial
declines
by
income
level
were
among
those
with
a
household
income
of
less
than
$10,000
per
year
(from
31.2
percent
to
22.8
percent)
and
those
with
a
household
income
of
more
than
$75,000
per
year
(from
18.1
percent
to
12.4
percent).
The
greatest
reductions
in
smoking,
by
education
level,
were
among
those
with
an
8th
grade
education
or
less
(from
29.8
percent
to
16.2
percent)
and
those
who
completed
college
(from
16.0
percent
to
10.1percent).
- An
increase
in
the
proportion
of
smokers
who
reported
that
a
health
professional
had
asked
them
about
tobacco
use
and
advised
them
to
quit
may
have
contributed
to
an
increase
in
smoking
cessation
in
Arizona.
- TEPP
incorporates
all
nine
components
of
a
comprehensive
tobacco
control
program
as
recommended
by
CDC’s
Best
Practices
for
Comprehensive
Tobacco
Control
Programs.
The
Arizona
program
also
follows
strategies
outlined
in
Reducing
Tobacco
Use:
A
Report
of
the
Surgeon
General,
Clinical
Practice
Guidelines
for
Treating
Tobacco
Use
and
Dependence,
and
recommendations
of
the
Task
Force
on
Community
Preventive
Services.
- If
all
states
in
this
country
implemented
programs
like
those
in
Arizona,
we
could
expect
to
meet
the
Healthy
People
2010
objective
of
cutting
the
adult
smoking
rate
by
half
during
this
decade
and
prevent
more
than
3
million
premature
deaths
from
smoking-related
diseases.
Recent
reports
from
California
indicate
that
sustaining
such
a
program
for
at
least
nine
years
could
result
in
reductions
in
lung
cancer,
bronchus
cancer,
and
coronary
heart
disease
rates.
Tobacco
Use
Among
Adults
in
Arizona:
1996
and
1999
—
Press
Release
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