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Smoking may increase suicide risk, study says

By MONTE MORIN, Los Angeles Times

It’s well known that cigarettes are bad for your health, but does smoking make you more likely to kill yourself too?

In a paper published Wednesday in the journal Nicotine & Tobacco Research, authors argued that smoking and suicide may be more closely related than previously thought.

The researchers analyzed suicide rates in states that aggressively implemented anti-smoking policies from 1990 to 2004 and compared them to suicide rates in states that had more relaxed policies.

Those states that imposed cigarette excise taxes and smoke-free air regulations had lower adjusted suicide rates than did states with fewer anti-smoking initiatives, authors wrote.
“There does seem to be a substantial reduction in the risk for suicide after these policies are implemented,” said lead study author Richard Grucza, a psychiatric epidemiologist at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis.

“For every dollar in excise taxes there was actually a 10% decrease in the relative risk for suicide,” Grucza told Washington University BioMed Radio. “The smoke-free air policies were also very strongly associated with reduced suicide risk.”

Study authors said that states with lower taxes on cigarettes and more lax policies on public smoking had suicide rates that were up to 6% greater than the national average.

This is not the first study to document a correlation between cigarette smoking and suicide, but it is among the first to suggest smoking and nicotine may be specific factors.

Up until now, researchers believed smoking coincided with suicide because people with psychiatric problems or substance abuse problems were more likely to smoke as well as to commit suicide.
“Markedly elevated rates of smoking are found among people with anxiety disorders, alcohol and drug dependence, schizophrenia and other diagnoses, in both clinical and general studies,” authors wrote. “However, it is also possible that smoking is not merely a marker for psychiatric disorders, but rather directly increases the risk for such disorders, which in turn increases the risk for suicide.”

Grucza said that the imposition of anti-smoking rules presented the researchers with a naturally occurring experiment. However, the authors did note that there were limitations on their research.

In particular, they said that since they considered state-imposed anti-smoking efforts only, their research would not account for local-level policies aimed at smoking behavior.

“While further studies may be required to establish a compelling weight of evidence, this study provides strong epidemiological support in its favor of the proposition that smoking is a casual risk factor for suicide,” authors wrote.

http://www.latimes.com/science/sciencenow/la-sci-sn-smoking-suicide-20140716-story.html

Hindsight, MN 2020: Cigarette Tax Increase Succeeds in Reducing Tobacco Usage

By Jeff Van Wychen, Fellow and Director of Tax Policy & Analysis
From Hindsight, Minnesota 2020 Blog

One of the reasons for increasing Minnesota’s cigarette tax was to incentivize current smokers to “kick the habit.” It appears that the cigarette tax increase is already having the desired effect. According to information from ClearWay Minnesota, “Quit attempts by Minnesotans have increased dramatically since the cigarette tax increased by $1.60 per pack on July 1, 2013. During the first two weeks of July 2013, QUITPLAN® Services received 256 percent more calls than in the first two weeks in July 2012, and saw a 289 percent increase in visits to quitplan.com.”

Long term, ClearWay projects that the tobacco tax increase enacted in 2013 will lead to a 47,800 reduction in the number of children who become addicted, a 16 percent reduction in youth smoking rates, incentivize 36,600 Minnesotans to quit smoking, and a 25,700 reduction in premature smoking related deaths.

A reduction in tobacco usage was incorporated into projections of how much revenue the 2013 tobacco tax increase would generate. As a result, the tobacco tax increase is generating about as much new revenue as it was expected to. According the most recent economic update from Minnesota Management & Budget, net tobacco tax collections are within three percent of their projected target since the tax increase took effect (through March 2014).

It is true that tobacco taxes are regressive, falling most heavily on low income households. However, the long-term health effects of the tobacco tax increase outweigh concerns over regressivity. After all, the positive health effects of the tobacco tax increase will likely be concentrated among low income smokers, since they are most sensitive to cigarette price increases and will be most incentivized to quit as a result. There are many ways we can change the tax code to help low income households; giving them access to cheap carcinogens should not be one of them.

http://www.mn2020hindsight.org/view/cigarette-tax-increase-succeeds-in-reducing-tobacco-usage

Teen Smoking Is Way Down. But What About E-cigs?

Alexandra Sifferlin, Time Magazine
Rates of cigarette smoking among high school students has dropped to lowest level in 22 years, the CDC reports.
In 2013, the smoking rate among high school students hit 15.7%, which means the U.S. government has already reached its goal of lowing the teen smoking rate to 16% of less by 2020. That’s according to the National Youth Risk Behavior Survey (YRBS), which began in 1991. Another important data set on teen smoking and drug use—Monitoring the Future (MTF)—reports the rate is at 16.3%. Regardless, both surveys show fewer kids are smoking.
That’s good news, and it’s likely thanks to a combination of several factors, the most important being the rising costs of cigarettes. Others include the growing stigmatization of smoking, with half of states prohibiting smoking in places like bars and restaurants. The adult smoking rate is dropping too, which means teens have fewer smoking role models.
If teens are passing around fewer packs of cigarettes, does that mean they’re not smoking other things? Past data has shown a 123% increase in the consumption of other smokable tobacco products like cigars and pipes, though the recent numbers from the larger data sets show no change in smokeless tobacco use since 1999, and a drop in cigar use.
yrbs_release_smoking_final-copy
One question you’re likely going to see is whether teens are switching to e-cigarettes. E-cigarettes is a subject the public health community is uncharacteristically split on. On one side of the spectrum, you have critics arguing that it’s possible e-cigarettes serve as a gateway to regular cigarettes. One vocal critic being the head of the CDC himself. “The increased use of e-cigarettes by teens is deeply troubling,” said CDC Director Dr. Tom Frieden in a statement about teen tobacco use going down. “Nicotine is a highly addictive drug. Many teens who start with e-cigarettes may be condemned to struggling with a lifelong addiction to nicotine and conventional cigarettes.”
Emerging data points to certain trends, but e-cigs are still so new. Earlier this fall, a CDC report showed that e-cig use among teens, while still low, had doubled in a year, from 3.3% in 2011 to 6.8% in 2012.
Dr. Kenneth Warner, a professor of health management and policy at the University of Michigan School of Public Health, looked back through the data and found that among kids who have never smoked a conventional cigarette, only 0.7% have ever tried an e-cigarette within the last 30 days. What this shows is that the same kids who are smoking regular cigarettes are smoking e-cigs.
“Everyone thinks they are right and the logical thing is that nobody knows,” says Warner. “This is a huge-stakes issue, because the proliferation of e-cigs has the potential to either reduce the cigarette problem or increase it over time among kids.”
The reality is we have a long way to go. It took 40 years to get the adult smoking rate down to around 20%, and it won’t be easy to cut it in half again. Warner and his colleague David Mendez have created a smoking-prevalence model that’s been used since the 1990s. Their predictions show that at the rate we are going, we might not be able to hit a 10% adult smoking rate until the middle of the century. But that’s if we don’t try anything radically different.
“I believe we will do better because I don’t think we’ll stick with just status quo tobacco control,” says Warner. “In my judgment, the future lies in how effectively FDA can regulate cigarettes and other [nicotine] products.”
The FDA announced it is expanding its regulatory powers to cover more tobacco products including e-cigs, but anti-smoking advocates are arguing it’s still not enough.
“The data on kids is great, but we have a long way to go before we can pack up and go home and say we solved the problem,” says Warner.
You can read more on the latest CDC numbers here.
http://time.com/2864214/teen-smoking-is-way-down-but-what-about-e-cigs/

Letter to the Editor: The issue with smoking is addiction, not freedom

I am writing in response to the Herald’s editorial on tobacco use in Grand Forks parks (“Too much loss for too little gain,” Page F1, June 1).

Tobacco prevention policies have, throughout history, always been met with some resistance. Tobacco use was so common when I was a child that it was normal to see smokers in grocery stores, movie theaters, school classrooms, teacher’s lounges, doctors’ offices, airplanes, airports and hospital rooms.

Each of those changes was met with the attitude that it was beyond the pale to even consider making changes. But today, it would seem unusual to see someone smoking in their hospital room or at a movie theater.

Tobacco use rates were high, and we all paid the price of the damage tobacco use does to the human body by way of health care costs, Medicaid costs, loss of productivity and sadly, early deaths of loved ones.

As a result of sound evidence-based practices, such as 1) preventing initiation among youth and young adults, 2) promoting quitting among adults and youth, 3) eliminating exposure to secondhand smoke and 4) identifying and eliminating tobacco-related disparities among population groups, headway has been made in reducing tobacco-use rates. But there still is work to be done.

Grand Forks Park District Commissioner Molly Soeby’s column put it well: “Tobacco use kills more people than AIDS, alcohol, car accidents, illegal drugs, murders and suicides combined” (“For health’s sake, Grand Forks parks should ban tobacco use,” Page F1, June 1).

“It is the No. 1 cause of preventable death in our country. Young people in North Dakota use tobacco more than the national averages. They smoke at higher rates (19.4 percent vs. 18.1 percent), and they use more chewing tobacco than adults (13.6 percent vs. 8.2 percent).”

Tobacco use kills about 480,000 people each and every year in the United States. That equals the number of American deaths in all the U.S. wars since the American Revolution, every 2½ years.

So, what can be done to improve these numbers? What does the research show us works?

The Centers for Disease Control recommends creating tobacco-free social norms through the use of “increasing the unit price of tobacco products, sustaining anti-tobacco media campaigns and making environments smoke-free.”

Tobacco-free parks policies are part of a comprehensive combination of strategies to get our youth tobacco use rates lowered.

Tobacco-free parks policies will keep young people from ever starting. The research is done, the evidence is clear. According to the CDC, comprehensive tobacco-free policies prevent young people from seeing tobacco use as a normal adult activity and show a significant effect on reducing tobacco use initiation among youth.

Our community would not be the first to adopt a tobacco-free parks policy. North Dakota currently has 12 communities with tobacco-free parks, and Minnesota has more than 150.

According to the editorial, “secondhand smoke in indoor areas is a health hazard; secondhand smoke in parks in inconsequential.”

But it’s not about secondhand smoke, which, by the way, many people consider a nuisance that interferes with their personal enjoyment of the parks. It is about what we know will work to keep young people from starting to use tobacco.

The editorial says that this is not a good enough reason to “clamp down on personal freedom.”

But this is not a personal freedom issue, either. Tobacco use is an addiction, and most adult tobacco users report that they started using before age 18.

A policy such at this will not prohibit anyone from using tobacco. It will help to keep children, who do not use tobacco, from starting.

That is a public health issue, not a personal freedom issue.

Recent studies in Grand Forks show overwhelming support in the community for the adoption of tobacco-free policies on all of our Park District properties. (The community-wide study is available on www.tobaccobytes.com)

Tobacco-free parks policies are cost effective. They’re good for the health of North Dakotans now and, as Soeby put it, “for future generations of residents of Grand Forks.”

Knox coordinates the tobacco prevention program for the Grand Forks Public Health Department.

http://www.grandforksherald.com/content/theresa-knox-issue-smoking-addiction-not-freedom

Higher Cigarette Tax May Reduce Smoking Habit

By: Steve Urness (NewsDakota.com)
VALLEY CITY, N.D. (NewsDakota.com) At 44 cents per pack of cigarettes, North Dakota has one of the lowest cigarette taxes in the nation. Research has shown that cheap tobacco is a leading cause for tobacco use among our state’s youth, so the North Dakota Center for Tobacco Prevention and Control Policy and  City-County Health District in Barnes County and Valley City are advocating the health benefits of increasing that tax.
According to the Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids and the American Cancer Society Action Network, increasing the cigarette tax from 44 cents to $2 could reduce youth smoking by 25 percent. Some 4,700 North Dakotans would be saved from premature smoking-related death and the state would save over $312 million in long-term health care costs.
Executive director for the Center, Jeanne Prom says the benefits of raising the tax are clear, “It’ll also make it more difficult for tobacco companies to hook our children on their lethal products.”
Prom adds, “It’s clear that between saving lives and decreasing health care costs by millions of dollars, increasing the cigarette tax is positive step for North Dakota.”
City County Health District Tobacco Free Coordinator Vicki Voldal Rosenau says “If we raise the price of tobacco, it becomes less affordable and chances for tobacco companies to hook our youth on nicotine are significantly reduced.”
For additional information about North Dakota’s tobacco tax, contact CCHD at 845-8518, or visit www.breathend.com.
http://www.newsdakota.com/2014/04/07/higher-cigarette-tax-may-reduce-smoking-habit/

Navy mulls banning tobacco sales on all bases, ships

By Karen Jowers , Staff writer / AIR FORCE TIMES
The Navy is on the verge of eliminating tobacco sales on all its bases and ships, according to sources inside and outside the Defense Department.
Officials are reportedly considering removing tobacco from all sales venues, to include any exchange-operated retail outlets, as well as MWR-operated retail outlets where cigarettes may be sold. Commissaries on Navy bases currently do not sell tobacco products.
The decision would be made at the service’s highest levels. Navy officials have been gathering information on the impacts of such a decision, one source said, to include the inevitable drop in profits for the Navy Exchange Service Command — which would reduce the flow of dividends that help fund morale, welfare and recreation programs on installations.
Navy spokeswoman Lt. Cmdr. Sarah Flaherty confirmed Monday that there have been discussions about tobacco sales, but said that no decision has been made.
Cmdr. Tamara Lawrence, a spokeswoman for Navy Secretary Ray Mabus, said in a written statement that “maximizing the readiness” of sailors and Marines has been a priority for Mabus since he took office.
Mabus “has implemented a number of initiatives to improve the culture of fitness in the Navy and Marine Corps, and curbing tobacco use is part of that improvement,” Lawrence said.
A source familiar with the military resale industry said that if the Navy pushes ahead on banning tobacco sales on its ships and bases, the idea likely would spread to the other services.
Tobacco products are legal, although by law they cannot be sold to minors. But smoking is a leading cause of premature death and disease in the U.S.; according to the American Cancer Society, more than 43 million people in America still smoke and tobacco will cause an estimated 480,000 deaths in 2014.
“We know that policies that restrict access to tobacco products, reduce exposure to tobacco advertising, and limit places that people smoke have a direct effect on reduced smoking rates, especially among youth,” wrote John R. Seffrin, CEO of the American Cancer Society, in a statement issued in February after CVS Caremark announced that its nationwide chain of more than 7,800 pharmacies would stop selling cigarettes and other tobacco products by Oct. 1.
CVS officials said their decision to stop selling tobacco products was consistent with the positions of the American Medical Association, American Heart Association, American Cancer Society, American Lung Association and American Pharmacists Association, all of whom have opposed tobacco sales in retail outlets in pharmacies.
The Navy has taken other steps to promote smoking cessation and discourage tobacco sales, starting with eliminating sales in its commissaries, then eliminating discounts on tobacco prices in Navy and Marine Corps exchanges in 2012.
“Tobacco use is the most avoidable public health hazard in the Navy and Marine Corps,” Mabus wrote in a March, 2, 2012, memo announcing that tobacco products offered in Navy and Marine Corps exchanges would no longer be sold at a discount. At that time, about one-third of sailors and Marines personnel used some form of tobacco, Mabus said.
In the same memo, he said that nicotine replacement therapy products approved by the Food and Drug Administration would be supplied for free to service members aboard all ships, base clinics and pharmacies and battalion aid stations.
In her statement Monday, Lawrence said Mabus “has asked his staff to look at additional ways to improve the health and readiness of our force. We are in the early stages of that process.”
Although her statement made reference to Marines and the Marine Corps, which is part of the Department of the Navy, Military Times could not immediately confirm Monday evening whether the Navy’s discussions about a possible total tobacco ban also would affect Marine Corps bases.

ERIC JOHNSON: E-cigs’ risks are real while benefits are scant

By Eric Johnson, Op-Ed, Grand Forks Herald
GRAND FORKS — According to the Centers for Disease Control and the U.S. Surgeon General, tobacco kills about 480,000 persons every year in the United States.
In 1964, about 41 percent of adults were cigarette smokers. Today, that rate is down to a little more than 18 percent. Significant strides have been made over the past five decades to reduce smoking and the tremendous health and financial burden it puts on our society.
In North Dakota alone, tobacco use still contributes to about $250 million in health care expenditures.
Encouraging people to quit tobacco remains a high priority with regard to the health of Americans, yet only two states in the nation — Alaska and North Dakota — fund anti-tobacco programs at levels recommended by the CDC.
In North Dakota, our efforts continue to be supported by the public. Public sentiment, expressed at the ballot box and in polling, shows that reducing tobacco use remains a high priority for North Dakotans. In 2008, voters approved Measure 3 to support funding of anti-tobacco programs; and in 2012, the statewide smoke-free law — passed as a ballot measure — got 67 percent of the vote, winning support from a majority of voters in every legislative district.
Some 89 percent of North Dakotans polled in 2013 think the funds designated for tobacco control should stay there.
What works to help people quit tobacco? The U.S. Preventive Task Force and the Surgeon General endorse medications that have proven effectiveness with a known, Food and Drug Administration-approved, safety and side-effect profile.
These include nicotine replacement products such as gum, patches or lozenges, as well as prescription medications such as Chantix (Varenicline) or Wellbutrin (Buproprion).
Proven counseling programs, such as NDQuits (available free to all North Dakotans who use tobacco), also are very effective, particularly when combined with an FDA-approved medication.
Electronic cigarettes (e-cigs) are increasingly popular products that fall into the unproven category. First invented in the 1960s, their popularity has continued to increase as large tobacco companies buy small “mom-and-pop” manufacturers. With more than 250 brands on the market, (“Blu,” “NJOY” and “Vuse” popular in America), e-cigs are battery-powered (some disposable, some rechargeable) with a vaporizer and mouthpiece attached.
When used, commonly referred to as “vaping,” the vaporizer boils the liquid inside, which most frequently contains three major ingredients — humectants (propylene glycol/glycerin, used in fog and smoke machines and antifreeze), nicotine (at varying levels) and flavoring (fruit flavors, bubble gum, cotton candy, bacon and coffee, to name a few).
Unlike other medications that are used to promote quitting tobacco, e-cigs are largely unregulated by the Food and Drug Administration; and to date, we have no real data to show that they are effective as a cessation product nor any data to show that they are safe.
Furthermore, some of these manufacturers have been cited for contaminants in their products, including nickel, arsenic and chromium.
Without FDA oversight, these products aren’t taxed, they can be sold to anyone of any age, and there are no restrictions on advertising, which is why we see and hear ads on TV, in magazines and on the radio.
Though the industry denies it, it’s apparent that these products are being marketed to children (unless we’re supposed to believe that “Hello Kitty” e-cigs are popular among adult users).
E-cig manufacturers, rather than relying on science, really are trying to “normalize” smoking again for the next generation. The recent national Youth Tobacco Survey showed a spike in use of e-cigs by youth, doubling to more than 10 percent in just one year.
In addition, many who use e-cigs become dual users, continuing to use other tobacco products at the same time.
Last but not least, the industry is playing on the desperate idea that anything else would be better than smoking traditional cigarettes. If that’s true, ask yourself why these same companies are so resistant to producing the data to back up their claims.
It’s disappointing that e-cigs have been marketed for more than 35 years and have yet to collect or publish any significant data to show they are safe for users or that they actually help people quit.
Considering these products increasingly are manufactured and marketed by Big Tobacco, I’m not anticipating we’ll see such data any time soon.
The FDA has made it very clear that e-cigs cannot be marketed as smoking cessation products as a result.
As a health care provider, I would love a good, new and novel option to help people quit smoking. Like other conditions I treat as a physician, I want to provide the best possible treatment for my patients, and that means practicing strategies and using medications that have scientific proof that they work and have an established safety profile.
To date, when it comes to quitting tobacco, that answer is not found in electronic cigarettes.
Dr. Johnson is a family physician at Altru Health System in Grand Forks.
http://www.grandforksherald.com/content/eric-johnson-e-cigs-risks-are-real-while-benefits-are-scant

Local Students Celebrate "Kick Butts" Day

KX News, Bismarck
Click here to watch video of this story.

It’s national “Kick Butts” day… A day to encourage people to snuff tobacco out of their lives.
It’s not promoted by officials, but rather by students.
Courtney Plante shows you how Students Against Destructive Decisions are doing their part to warn their peers.
Today’s announcements at St. Mary’s are a bit different than usual.
Members of SADD, or Students Against Destructive Decisions are quizzing students about things like e-cigarettes.
Andrew Stromme wants his friends to realize the dangers of tobacco use.
“I do have some people I know that do smoke, and they’re trying to quit. They really start to realize how big of a problem it is, and how hard it is to let go,” said Andrew Stromme, St. Mary’s SADD member.
Across town, things are a little more in your face.
SADD members at Century hand out suckers and have students smell candies that are similar to flavors of e-cigarettes.
 “They are advertising to kids and people my age. So we got colorful wrappers that look like candy,” said Hannah Rexine, SADD member.
Their goal — prevent friends from using tobacco.
Or help them quit once they’ve started.
“A lot of people at my old middle school did smoke and it’s hard seeing people make those decisions so young and it can effect your future so greatly,” said Hannah Rexine, SADD member.
9th grade math teacher Marcy Feickert says there are quite a few students that use e-cigarettes.
She says educational messages like this show students how advertisements are targeting people their age.
“The kids jaws literally dropped looking at all the packaging and how attractive the packaging is now for e-cigarettes,” said Marcy Feickert.
At both schools the lesson for students is clear…
Don’t start smoking…
“I don’t want to start it because I know it’s addictive. It’s a good thing to stay away from”
“I think it’s a waste of money…all tobacco is”
Don’t fall for ads…
“E-cigarettes are the new fad right now, I mean people are trying them just because they look cool,” said Courtney Seilerm, SADD Advisor.
“You see it in the commercial, all of the colorful packaging, that appeals to younger children,” said Andrew Stromme, SADD member.
Do kick butts.
Reporting in Bismarck for KX News, I’m Courtney Plante.
At the end of the day students at St. Mary’s get cookies for correct trivia answers.

Letter: Big tobacco goes after ‘replacement smokers’

By: Beth Hughes, Bismarck, INFORUM
Even though the risks of using tobacco are well documented, it remains the No. 1 cause of preventable death and disease in the country. This year alone, nearly 500,000 Americans will die prematurely because of smoking. Unfortunately, tobacco marketing efforts recruit two new young smokers to replace each tobacco user who dies.
It’s well documented that tobacco companies market to youth in an effort to recruit “replacement smokers.” Research from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention tells us that smoking and smokeless tobacco use are initiated and established primarily during adolescence. In fact, nearly 9 out of 10 smokers start smoking by the age of 18. Tobacco companies know this and continually look for new ways to hook our youth.
Tobacco companies pay convenience stores – many located near schools – and other tobacco retailers to prominently display advertisements for their products near the entrances, exits and checkouts. Tobacco companies also target a new generation of potential tobacco users by designing items to appeal to youth, such as fruit-flavored products in colorful packaging that make tobacco look and smell like candy.
In addition to new flavors and packaging, price is another factor that affects tobacco use. In states with low tobacco taxes, like North Dakota, it’s easier to make tobacco products affordable, and that makes it easier for youth to obtain tobacco. Research supported by the CDC and the American Lung Association shows that increasing a tobacco tax is one of the most effective ways to reduce youth tobacco use; by making tobacco less affordable, kids are less likely to buy it.
The Center for Tobacco Prevention and Control Policy uses media campaigns to educate the public about the dangers of tobacco use. The Center also works with local public health units across the state to educate our communities on tobacco prevention so our children live healthier lives as fewer of them become addicted to nicotine.
We are committed to preventing tobacco use among our youth and adult populations. We’ve made great progress, but there is more work to be done. Showing support for tobacco prevention efforts in your community is a great start to help reduce youth tobacco use rates. Here is what you can do:
• Support tobacco-free and smoke-free policies within your community. When youth are not exposed to tobacco, it increases their chance to remain tobacco free.
• Support policies that restrict how tobacco is marketed. Tobacco companies are aggressive marketers that target youth through retail displays, internet marketing and magazines that are popular with teens.
• Support tobacco tax increases. Our youth are less likely to use tobacco if it is less affordable.
These strategies are CDC Best Practice strategies – strategies that are proven to reduce youth tobacco use rates. We ask the community to join us in this fight by showing your support for tobacco prevention.

Hughes, Ph.D., is a registered respiratory therapist, and chairwomen, North Dakota Tobacco Prevention and Control Committee.
http://www.inforum.com/event/article/id/428702/group/Opinion/

CTFK: President's Plan to Expand Early Education with a Tobacco Tax Will Protect Kids and Save Lives

Statement of Susan M. Liss, Executive Director, Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids
WASHINGTON, DC – President Obama today again called for bold action to protect our children from tobacco addiction and save lives, urging Congress to increase the federal cigarette tax by 94 cents per pack and similarly increase taxes on other tobacco products. The evidence is clear that increasing the tobacco tax is one of the most effective ways to reduce smoking and other tobacco use, especially among kids, as this year’s Surgeon General’s Report on Smoking and Health just reaffirmed.
This proposal, part of the President’s FY 2015 budget, would do more to reduce tobacco use among kids than any other single action the federal government can take. The tobacco tax increase would also raise $78 billion over 10 years to fund early childhood education initiatives proposed by the President, according to the Office of Management and Budget. Congress should embrace this proposal enthusiastically – it would provide millions of kids with a strong start in life, while helping them live longer, healthier lives free of tobacco addiction.
The need for Congress to increase the tobacco tax is more urgent than ever.  While our nation has cut smoking rates by more than half since the first Surgeon General’s report was issued 50 years ago in 1964, the latest Surgeon General’s report found that smoking is even more hazardous and takes an even greater toll on our nation’s health than previously thought.  The report found that smoking annually kills 480,000 Americans – causing one in every five deaths – and costs the nation more than $289 billion in health care bills and other economic losses.  Tobacco use remains the number one cause of preventable death in our country.
The report also underscored that tobacco use is a pediatric epidemic – 90 percent of adult smokers began at or before age 18, and 5.6 million kids alive today will die prematurely from smoking-caused disease unless current trends are reversed.  The President’s proposal represents exactly the kind of action needed to accelerate progress against tobacco and ultimately end the tobacco epidemic for good.
Among its key action steps, the new Surgeon General’s report calls for “raising the average excise cigarette taxes to prevent youth from starting smoking and encouraging smokers to quit.”
“Raising prices on cigarettes is one of the most effective tobacco control interventions,” the report concludes. “The evidence is sufficient to conclude that increases in the prices of tobacco products, including those resulting from excise tax increases, prevent initiation of tobacco use, promote cessation, and reduce the prevalence and intensity of tobacco use among youth and adults.”
Even tobacco companies admit in their own documents that tobacco tax increases reduce youth smoking.  Economic research has found that every 10 percent increase in the price of cigarettes reduces youth smoking by about seven percent and overall cigarette consumption by three to five percent.
The health and economic benefits of a federal tobacco tax increase were confirmed in a 2012 report by the highly respected Congressional Budget Office. The CBO found that a 50-cent increase in the federal tobacco tax would raise substantial new revenue while prompting nearly 1.4 million adult smokers to quit by 2021, saving tens of thousands of lives and reducing health care costs, including for the Medicaid program. Based on the CBO’s statement that a $1 tax increase would roughly double those benefits, we estimate that a 94-cent cigarette tax increase would prompt 2.6 million adult smokers to quit and save 18,000 lives over 10 years.
We estimate that a 94-cent increase in the federal cigarette tax would also:
·       Prevent 1.3 million kids from becoming addicted adult smokers;
·       Prevent 493,400 premature deaths from these reductions in youth smoking alone, and
·       Save $55 billion in future health care costs from reductions in youth and adult smoking.
The increased taxes on other tobacco products would have additional health benefits, preventing kids from using harmful and addictive products such as cheap, sweet cigars and smokeless tobacco.
Furthermore, national and state polls consistently show strong public support for substantial increases in tobacco taxes, with most polls showing voters favoring tobacco tax increases by more than a two-to-one margin. Polls consistently have found that large majorities of Democrats, Republicans and Independents and voters from a broad range of demographic and ethnic groups all support tobacco tax increases – as do significant numbers of smokers.
In short, a significant tobacco tax increase is a win-win-win for the country – a health win that will reduce tobacco use and save lives, a financial win that will raise revenue to fund an important initiative and reduce tobacco-related health care costs, and a political win that is popular with voters.