Tobacco Program Saving Lives
March 2002
After two years of program implementation, some early evaluation
results of adults are in and show the program is moving in the right
direction. The Department of Health conducted two telephone surveys,
reaching more than 25,000 adults in Washington.
The surveys show that there has been an 8 percent drop in the number of
adults that are smoking in the past two years. In 1999, there were about
981,000 adult smokers in Washington and in June 2002, that number had
dropped to 898,000. That means:
There are now 83,000 fewer tobacco users in our state. That’s the
size of the city of Everett.
28,000 people have been spared an early death.
The state will save $134 million in future medical costs.
These former smokers collectively will have $150 million at their
disposal.
In the original plan created in 1999, the Department of Health
committed to do the following:
Reduce the proportion of current adult smokers by 3 percent a year
from 22.4 percent of the state population in 1999 to 16.5 percent of the
population in 2010.
What is the state’s program?
The department launched the Tobacco Prevention and Control Program in
July 2000. In cooperation with advocate groups and local health officials,
the program has developed a comprehensive approach to preventing tobacco
use among residents. Elements are:
Community-based programs
The Tobacco Prevention and Control Program provides funding and
support to local health departments and tribes to help them plan,
implement, and evaluate tobacco prevention and control activities
tailored to meet their needs.
School-based programs
The state program provides funding for schools to implement a
comprehensive set of activities in grades 5-9, that include improving
and enforcing tobacco-free school policies, establishing stop smoking
programs for students, implementing research-based curricula, training
teachers and staff, providing information to families, and planning
community activities to serve and involve youth.
Helping people quit
The Tobacco Quit Line provides Washington residents with a free
service to help them quit tobacco. Since opening, the quit line provided
one-on-one counseling, referrals to local stop smoking programs, and
tobacco quit kits to more than 24,000 callers. Potential callers can
learn more about the quit line by visiting the Web site quitline.com. To
date, the site has recorded more than 20,000 visits. The program works
with insurance companies to include coverage for smoking cessation in
their benefit plans, and trains doctors and nurses to help their
patients quit smoking.
Public awareness
The program’s aggressive advertising campaign sends a clear message
to Washington youth about the harsh reality of tobacco use and the
damage it causes. The campaign consists of television and radio ads,
billboards, ads on buses, and promotions in movie theaters, at music
concerts, and on mall kiosks. The program conducts a similar campaign
aimed at adults to promote use of the state’s tobacco quit line.
Policy and enforcement
Working closely with the Office of Attorney General, the Liquor
Control Board, local law enforcement, and other partners, Washington is
expanding its statewide program to educate retailers, monitor retailer
sales of tobacco to minors, and enforce state and federal laws
restricting tobacco sales and advertising to minors.
Evaluation
The Department of Health conducts regular surveys to collect
information on tobacco use and knowledge and beliefs about tobacco among
adults and youth in Washington state.
|
