Tobacco Control State Highlights 2010
Tobacco use is the single most preventable cause of death in the United States. Each year in the United States, cigarette smoking and exposure to secondhand smoke causes 443,000--or 1 in 5 deaths. Economic losses are also staggering. Smoking-caused diseases result in $96 billion in health care costs annually.Some states have significantly improved the health of their citizens by reducing smoking rates, thereby decreasing smoking-related diseases, deaths, and health care costs. Even in economically challenging times, states can make a significant difference in public health by employing high-impact, cost-effective tobacco control and prevention strategies to--
- Monitor tobacco use and prevention policies
- Protect people from tobacco smoke
- Offer help to quit tobacco use
- Warn people about the dangers of tobacco
- Enforce bans on tobacco advertising, promotion, and sponsorship
- Raise state cigarette taxes on tobacco
Tobacco Control State Highlights 2010 guides states in developing and implementing high-impact strategies and assessing their performance. This report also provides state-specific data intended to--
- Highlight how some states are making great strides in reducing smoking rates using evidence-based strategies while also showing that more work needs to be done in other states
- Enable readers to see how their own states perform
- Help policymakers with decision making