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Apr 2 05 8:14 AM
States, Industry Blamed for Slowdown March 31, 2005 By Todd Zwillich Reviewed By Brunilda Nazario, MD Nearly 30% of American high school students are still using tobacco, worrying health officials and advocates that previous gains against youth smoking have slowed. CDC figures released Thursday show that 28% of high school students were current smokers in 2004, a number essentially unchanged since 2002. Cigarette smoking rates for middle school students dropped slightly from 9.8% to 8.1% during the same period, though the change was not significant. Overall, 28.2% of high school students and 11.7% of middle school students now use cigarettes, cigars, smokeless tobacco, or other products, the agency reported. Approximately 4.5 million American teens currently smoke, according to 2003 federal surveys. Antismoking Efforts Slowing Officials warn that Thursday's figures represent a significant slowdown in efforts to curb smoking by young people that previously helped produce deep cuts in minors' tobacco use. Cigarette smoking peaked at 36% of high school students in 1997. It dropped to 22.5% by 2002, after the 1998 Master Settlement agreement between states and cigarette makers greatly curbed industry advertising and forced companies to pay for campaigns to end smoking by young people. "No changes were observed in the use of tobacco or in access to tobacco products," the CDC stated in its report. More than two-thirds of middle school youth surveyed said they were able to buy tobacco products without showing proof of age. Also, 87% of high school students reported seeing actors smoking on screen in 2004, the CDC said. Officials blame several other factors, including lower state spending on tobacco prevention and a slowdown in price increases that previously made it more difficult for youth to buy cigarettes. Increasing excise taxes caused an 80% rise in the cost of the average cigarette pack between 1997 and 2002, but that increase slowed to just 4% by 2004, they said. William V. Corr, executive director of the Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids, who says that youth smoking rates have "clearly stalled," blames the tobacco industry and "short-sighted state legislatures" for the slowdown. Jennifer Golisch, a spokeswoman for Philip Morris USA, the nation's largest tobacco company, says that her company actively works to curtail minors' access to cigarettes and that the company greatly cut its newspaper and magazine advertising in recent years. "In 2004, we didn't advertise in magazines at all," she says. But Corr notes that Philip Morris and other companies have made up for advertising cuts by greatly increased spending on price promotions and subsidies that help retailers lower the cost of cigarettes at retail counters. Nearly $8 billion of the industry's $12.5 billion in total tobacco promotions in 2002 went to such subsidies, he says. "They have used their marketing and promotion allowances to encourage retailers to cut pricing, and that makes cigarettes more attractive to youth," Corr says. Golisch said that the overall rise in the retail price of cigarettes has increased the cost of offering price promotions, accounting for the billions in spending. CDC officials also point to a steep drop in state spending on tobacco prevention and control efforts, brought about in large part by near-ubiquitous budget crises. Spending for the programs dropped from $750 billion in fiscal 2002 to $543 billion in fiscal 2004, a figure which now represents just 3% of all funds available to states for tobacco prevention from the Master Settlement and from cigarette taxes. "You would never see state legislatures cutting back on child immunization, yet they cut back on smoking immunization that we know works," Corr says. Meanwhile, supporters of giving the Food and Drug Administration the authority to regulate tobacco products and all aspects of their advertising pegged Thursday's report as evidence of the need for stricter cigarette regulations. "The CDC report shows how critical it is to pass laws that will crack down on youth smoking," Sen. Edward M. Kennedy (D-Mass.) said through a spokesperson. "We cannot in good conscience allow the Food and Drug Administration, the federal agency most responsible for protecting the public health, to remain powerless to deal with the enormous risks of tobacco -- the most deadly of all consumer products," he said. http://webcenter.health.webmd.netscape.com/content/Article/103/107167.htm ©1996-2005 WebMD Inc. All rights reserved. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- SOURCES: Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report, CDC, March 31, 2005. William V. Corr, executive director, Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids. Jennifer Golisch, spokesperson, Philip Morris USA. Sen. Edward Kennedy (D-Mass.) Tobacco Use, Access, and Exposure to Tobacco in Media Among Middle and High School Students --- United States, 2004 http://www.cdc.gov/mmwr/preview/mmwrhtml/mm5412a1.htm
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