Tobacco Prevention: A Top Priority

• Preventing youth from beginning tobacco use

• Helping people quit

• Reducing exposure to secondhand smoke

• Reducing tobacco use in high-risk groups

• Contact us

• Links to outside sites

• Map of this site

• Alternative file format information

www.doh.wa.gov
a healthy dose of
information

Making Washington a Healthier Place to Live

Tobacco use is the nation's number one cause of preventable death, killing more people every year than AIDS, alcohol, drugs, murders, suicides, car crashes, and fires, combined.

In 2000, the Washington State Department of Health received funding from the settlement of a lawsuit against tobacco companies and greatly expanded its 10-year-old tobacco prevention and control program.  The department and its partners are working to: 

• Prevent youth from beginning to use tobacco.

• Help youth and adults quit using tobacco.

• Reduce exposure to secondhand smoke.

• Reduce tobacco use in high-risk groups.

After only six years of implementation, the Tobacco Prevention and Control Program and its statewide partners have successfully reduced the number of Washington kids smoking by about 65,000 (50 percent) and the number of adults smoking by 235,000 (24 percent). 

View Tobacco Prevention & Control Program (PDF 88 KB) 
View Funding History (PDF 40 KB)

Published research validates Tobacco Program efforts
Our success in reducing smoking was recently featured  in Preventing Chronic Disease, a peer-reviewed publication of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). The article, “Effective Tobacco Control in Washington State: A Smart Investment for Healthy Futures,” compared trends in adult and youth smoking for Washington and the rest of the country. It also compared the components of our program to the framework for tobacco control as recommended by CDC. The research findings show that an adequate level of sustained funding is needed to achieve continued reductions in tobacco use.

The journal is available online at: http://www.cdc.gov/pcd/. The article can be found at: http://www.cdc.gov/pcd/issues/2007/jul/06_0109.htm.

For more information, contact Mike Boysun at 360-236-3671 or mike.boysun@doh.wa.gov.

Where to find anti-tobacco information in your:

• County

• Tribe

• Educational Service District

• Cross-cultural community

Tobacco use rates in Washington State

• Washington State Tobacco Facts (PDF 92 KB)

Tobacco use rates by county

Reports

• Progress Report (March 2007), Tobacco Prevention and Control Program Progress Report (PDF 1.7 MG)
• Adult Smoking Rates in Washington: A Report on Current Disparities (March 2007) (PDF 1,771 KB)
  • Appendix (PDF 22KB)
• 2006 Surgeon General's Report, The Health Consequences of Involuntary Exposure to Tobacco Smoke
• Progress Report (March 2005), Tobacco Prevention and Control Program Progress Report (PDF 3.41 MG)
• Strategic Priorities Update: Tobacco Prevention and Control Plan for Washington State (December 2004)(PDF 1.83 MG)
• Strategic Plan for Identifying and Eliminating Tobacco-related Health Disparities in Washington State, Executive Summary (March 2004) (PDF 1773 KB).
• Progress Report (2003), Tobacco Prevention and Control Program (PDF 2.3 MG)
• Progress Report 2003, Executive Summary, Tobacco Prevention and Control Program (PDF 1.18 MG)
• 2001 Report: Building a Solid Foundation for a Healthier Washington (PDF 128 KB)
  • Cover for 2001 report ( PDF 36.1 KB)
• A Tobacco Prevention and Control Plan for Washington State:  Building a Sustainable Program for Long-term Success (2000) (PDF 42.8 MG)
  • Cover for 2000 plan (PDF 23 MG)
• Tobacco Prevention and Control Plan for Washington State (1999), Executive Summary (PDF 90.2 KB)

Some files on this page require free readers. Download a free reader.

* Links to external resources are provided as a public service for educational purposes only. External links do not imply endorsement by the Washington State Department of Health of any political, commercial, promotional or other proprietary content that may be included in linked Web sites.

Linked external Web pages are routinely monitored by the Department for materials that advocate for political outcomes. If you find any materials on a directly linked Web page that advocates for, or against, any political candidates, ballot measures, or referendums, please contact us immediately so that the link may be promptly removed.

• Adult smoking rate drops

• Media campaign

• Newsletter

• Facts & figures

• In the News

Find out more about Quit Line 

Visit our youth site

Visit our secondhand smoke site

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Last Update : 06/25/2008 09:10 AM
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