Smoking prevalence among adults 18+
Current Value
22.7%
Definition
Story Behind the Curve
Tobacco use is the leading cause of preventable disease, death and disability nationwide, costing the United States billions of dollars in lost productivity and health care expenses. Over 16 million Americans are living with a disease caused by smoking. Life expectancy for smokers is at least 10 years shorter than for nonsmokers.
The Community Guide: What Works Tobacco Use: https://www.thecommunityguide.org/sites/default/files/assets/What-Works-Factsheet-Tobacco.pdf
Partners
- Statewide Sub-Grantees
- Community Based Sub-Grantees
- Local Chapters of National Organizations: American Cancer Society, American Lung Association, American Heart Association
- University of Arkansas at Little Rock
- Harding University
- Arkansas Center for Health Improvement
- Other Arkansas Department of Health (ADH) Programs: Chronic Disease; Women, Infants, and Children; Hometown Health Improvement; Oral Health; and School Health Services
- Arkansas Department of Education
- Arkansas Minority Health Commission
What Works
Evidence-based interventions of what works in public health to reduce tobacco use:
- Prevent people from starting to smoke. Raising the price of tobacco products can help prevent people from starting to use tobacco. For instance, adolescent tobacco use drops by a median of 3.7 percent for every 10 percent price hike. Additionally, mass-reach health communication interventions, primarily television broadcasts, have proven effective to reduce initiation among young people. Joint interventions such as mass-media campaigns combined with price increases and school- and community-based education have also proven effective in decreasing adolescent tobacco use by nearly 2.5 percent.
- Help people quit using tobacco products of all types. Strategies that can help more people quit using tobacco include raising produce prices and reducing financial barriers to treatment. Several recommended strategies work best in combination with others, such as mass media campaigns, mass-reach health communications interventions (primarily television broadcasts), mobile phone-based support programs, and systems that remind health care providers to counsel patients about quitting. For instance, combining mass-reach communication interventions that combine cessation messages with a quitline number and that are disseminated through multiple channels have been shown to increase call volume by a median of 132 percent.
- Reduce people’s exposure to secondhand smoke. Smoking policies such as bans and restrictions are particularly effective for curbing exposure to second-hand smoke. Studies show that smoking bans can reduce the level of ETS components (e.g. nicotine vapor) by a median of 72 percent within 12 months. Smoking bans, which entirely prohibit smoking in defined areas, reduce ETS exposure more than smoking restrictions, which limit smoking to designated areas.
- Keep minors from obtaining tobacco products. Stronger laws for retailers who sell tobacco, active enforcement of these laws, and retailer education can help keep tobacco products out of young people’s hands. These efforts can decrease tobacco sales to minors by a median of 33.5 percent and cut their tobacco use by a median of 5.8 percent.
- Decrease tobacco use in the workplace. Strategies to boost quit rates in the workplace include policies restricting or banning smoking indoors and in public places, and incentive programs that reward workers for cutting back their tobacco use. Smoke-free policies can also save employers and workers money by reducing health care costs. For instance, quit rates can increase by a median of 6.4 percent among workers using these strategies. An employer could potentially save $10,246 per year for every smoker who quits due to a smoke-free workplace policy.
The Community Guide: What Works Tobacco Use: https://www.thecommunityguide.org/sites/default/files/assets/What-Works-Factsheet-Tobacco.pdf
Strategy
Strategy 1: Identify and collaborate with statewide partners who work with municipalities to develop healthier communities and facilitate the integration of tobacco control in to the framework.
Strategy 2: Provide education on the strengths and weaknesses of statewide legislation that would equal taxation/pricing on tobacco and nicotine products to include Electronic Smoking Devices (ESD’s) such as JUUL and emerging nicotine/vaping products.
Strategy 3: Continue to develop best practices for integrating tobacco cessation services, Ask, Advise and Refer (2A’s and R) during all local public health visits.
Strategy 4: Continue to provide training to healthcare providers who interface with patients to promote integration of tobacco cessation services such as 2A’s and R.
Additional Resources
Links to Statewide Programs
Arkansas Cancer Coalition (ACC) http://www.arcancercoalition.org/
Arkansas Tobacco Control Coalition (ArTCC) http://cleartheairarkansas.com/
Minority Sub-Recipient Grant Office (MISRGO) http://www.misrgo.org/aboutus.html
Minority Research Center at UAPB http://www.minorityresearchcenter.org/
Links to National Partners
Campaign for Tobacco Free Kids https://www.tobaccofreekids.org/index.php
Americans for Non-Smokers Rights https://no-smoke.org/