The recent news out of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention is frustrating but not surprising: smoking rates are stuck. After decades of steady declines (from a 42 percent high in 1965), US smoking rates have been basically stagnate for the past five years. One in five adults light up, about the same as it was in 2004. Declines in teen smoking have also slowed, hovering around the 20 percent mark for the past six years. To what can we trace this steady stream of smoke?
One reason is complacency. Strapped state officials have diverted money away from anti-tobacco campaigns and cessation programs. According to the Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids, in 2010, states provided a measly 17 percent of the CDC-recommended funding for tobacco control. All the while, the industry continues to spend huge amounts to market and promote their product. Although many states and the feds have upped their tobacco taxes — an excellent measure to curb consumption — the industry has combated with price cuts, effectively keeping their goods cheap.
Another reason our national rates won’t budge is because of the patchwork system of clean air laws. Banning indoor smoking has a duel effect: it protects nonsmokers, while also helping those looking to quit. An additional CDC report found that although the number of people exposed to secondhand smoke dropped dramatically between 1999 and 2008, 40 percent of nonsmokers still have measurable levels of exposure to secondhand smoke.
As the number one cause of preventable disease in the US, it’s clear that tobacco prevention today will lead to lower health care costs tomorrow. Many states and cities, like California and New York City, enjoy below-average smoking rates as a result of aggressive tobacco control policies and a constant battle stance against the industry. If we want to get out of our smoking funk, we can’t sit back and watch the past’s efforts go up in a cloud of smoke.
Photo Credit: SuperFantastic
from: http://healthcare.change.org/blog/view/a_big_drag_smoking_rates_still_stuck
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