Background Smoking is the leading preventable cause of death in the United States, annually causing more than 480,000 deaths. In Wyoming, smoking leads to approximately 800 deaths from smoking-related illnesses each year and nearly $258 million in annual healthcare costs (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention [CDC], 2014a). In addition, scientists have known since the […]
Background Since the 1950s, scientists have been collecting evidence about the harmful effects of smoking. In 1964, the U.S. Surgeon General’s office issued a landmark report, Smoking and Health: Report of the Advisory Committee to the Surgeon General, which stated that a link between smoking and certain cancers exists (U.S. Department of Health, Education, and […]
2019 Follow-Up Survey The Wyoming Quit Tobacco program (WQT) helps participants trying to quit using tobacco. The WQT Follow-Up Survey is a monthly phone survey of people who signed up for the WQT by completing an intake online or over the phone. It was administered seven months after the intake, between June 2018 and May […]
Context for Tobacco Prevention in Wyoming There is no safe level of exposure to tobacco smoke. Each year, an estimated 800 Wyoming adults die prematurely from smoking-attributable illnesses such as heart disease, lung diseases, and cancers (primarily of the respiratory system; Centers for Disease Control and Prevention [CDC], 2014a). In 2010, tobacco-related healthcare cost Wyoming […]
The Wyoming Adult Tobacco Survey (ATS) is a key component in the evaluation of Wyoming’s Tobacco Prevention and Control Program (TPCP). Under contract to the Wyoming Department of Health (WDH), the Wyoming Survey & Analysis Center (WYSAC) at the University of Wyoming called adults across the state (via cell phone and landline) to ask about their use of and attitudes about tobacco products and policies.
Tobacco use is a preventable cause of chronic diseases like heart disease, cancers, respiratory diseases, and high blood pressure in the United States (USDHHS, 2014). Chronic diseases are leading causes of death and sickness in the United States and Wyoming. In 2016, cardiovascular disease, cancer, and chronic lower respiratory diseases were the first, second, and fourth leading causes of death in Wyoming, respectively (CDC, National Center for Health Statistics, 2017).
In the United States, children and teens constitute the majority of all new smokers (Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration [SAMHSA], 2014). The earlier young people begin using tobacco products, the more likely they are to use them as adults and the longer they will remain users (Institute of Medicine, 2015). Two of the four key goals the Wyoming Tobacco Prevention and Control Program (TPCP) shares with the federal tobacco prevention and control program are to (a) reduce youth initiation of tobacco use (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention [CDC], 2014) and (b) promote quitting tobacco use, including among youth (CDC, 2015).
The earlier young people begin using tobacco products, the more likely they are to use them as adults and the longer they remain users (Institute of Medicine, 2015). One of the four goals the Wyoming Tobacco Prevention and Control Program (TPCP) shares with the federal tobacco prevention and control program is to reduce youth initiation of tobacco use. Limiting youth access to tobacco products may help reduce youth initiation of tobacco use (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention [CDC], 2014).
One of the four key goals the Wyoming Tobacco Prevention and Control Program (TPCP) shares with the federal tobacco prevention and control program is to increase tobacco quit attempts and successes (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention [CDC], 2015). Reductions in tobacco consumption resulting from utilization of tobacco cessation services will result in a decline in tobacco-related sickness and death.
Two of the four key goals the Wyoming Tobacco Prevention and Control Program (TPCP) shares with the federal tobacco prevention and control program are: (a) increasing the number of people quitting tobacco use (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention [CDC], 2015) and (b) preventing young people from starting to use tobacco (CDC, 2014b). Taxing cigarettes is a well-documented and effective policy for governments to make further progress on both of these goals (CDC, 2014a; Hyland et al., 2005).Taxation encourages tobacco users to quit or use less tobacco by increasing the price of cigarettes. Economic studies have demonstrated that increasing the unit price for tobacco products by 20% would reduce overall consumption of tobacco products by 10%, the percentage of adults who use tobacco by 4%, and the percentage of young people who start to use tobacco by 9% (see Guide to Community Preventive Service, 2015, for a summary of this research).In 2014, WYSAC estimated that a $1.00 price increase in Wyoming would decrease the amount of cigarettes Wyoming adults smoke by 6% while generating $30.1 million (adjusted for inflation to 2018 dollars) of additional revenue during the first year (WYSAC, 2014).