Youth Initiation of Tobacco Use

We will soon be releasing our First Quarterly Report for 2011. This report addresses the first goal of tobacco control programs - preventing initiation of tobacco use. Most people who start smoking are younger than 18 years of age, so preventing adolescents from initiating tobacco is critical to reducing the burden of tobacco use on this state. This report summarizes trends in the initiation of several tobacco products among Mississippi middle and high school students. 

Key Outcomes

Initiation of cigarette smoking, cigar smoking, and smokeless tobacco has decreased substantially since statewide tobacco control programs were implemented in 1999. (Source: Mississippi Youth Tobacco Survey)

Initiation of cigarette smoking among middle school students decreased by 52% since 1998, leading to 31,828 fewer middle school students who had tried smoking.

Initiation of cigarette smoking among high school students decreased by 37% since 1998, leading to 37,657 fewer middle school students who had tried smoking.

Smoke-Free Ordinances in Mississippi

There are currently 37 Mississippi communities that have implemented 100% smoke-free ordinances (smoking is not allowed in any indoor public place). Several other communities have implemented partial smoke-free ordinances. This site provides a summary of the key features of these ordinances for each city, as well as a PDF of the ordinance.

Adult Cigarette Smoking Prevalence, 1998-2009

There are two broad approaches to reducing the adult prevalence of smoking. 

The first is to lower the rate of smoking initiation among youth. Mississippi has experienced substantial success in this area. The initiation rate among middle school students had decreased by 52% and decreased among high school students by 37% since 1998. 

The second is to increase cessation among current smokers. This can be accomplished through cessation programs and through policy. 

Cessation:

The Office of Tobacco Control offers both healthcare system-based and population-based interventions that provide services to the individual tobacco user, which include the following:

• ACT Center
  The ACT Center for Tobacco Treatment, Education and Research provides free face-to-face tobacco treatment to Mississippi residents interested in quitting. Eligible participants receive nicotine replacement therapies and prescription medications. The ACT Center is located in Jackson, MS with several satellite tobacco treatment clinics throughout the state.
• Mississippi Tobacco Quitline: 1-800-QUIT-NOW (1-800-784-8669)
  The Mississippi Tobacco Quitline provides free telephone-based tobacco treatment to Mississippi residents interested in quitting. Nicotine replacement therapies are available to eligible participants.
  
  
  
  

Policy:

Across the United States, state tobacco control policies have improved substantially over the past 13 years. Since 1998, the average state cigarette tax has increased from 39 cents to $1.45. During this time period, many states and communities have also passed smoke-free laws. Currently, 22 states and the District of Columbia have passed comprensive smoke-laws (smoking is not allowed in any indoor public place or worksite), and 47.5% of the U.S. population lives in a community or state with a comprehensive smoke-free law.

However, policy changes in Mississippi have been slower. Although Mississippi recently raised the state cigarette tax from 18 cents to 68 cents, 35 states and the District of Columbia have a higher tax rate and the current state tax falls well below the national average. Mississippi has also been slower to pass smoke-free policies. There is not currently a comprehensive smoke-free law in this state. However, 35 communities, accounting for 20% of the population in Mississippi have passed local comprensive smoke-free ordinances.

Summary
The smoking rate among US adults has decreased slowly and steadily since 2002 (BRFSS data). Although youth smoking rates in Mississippi have also declined during this time period, there have been no decreases in the smoking rate among Mississippi adults. It is not possible to state conclusively why Mississippi had not experienced a decline in adult smoking rates when the rates are dropping in the U.S.. However, the disparities in the state cigarette tax and smoke-free legislation are likely partially responsible.

Science Guiding Advocacy

As social scientists, we are trained to use objective scientific methods to collect and analyze data on social issues. We produce academic papers, give professional talks, and even occasionally produce reports for policy makers (with the expectation that others will actively apply our findings to policy issues, but rarely do we actually get in front of a social issue and become active advocates). I’ve spent the past decade conducting research on tobacco, and my way of thinking about the role of a social scientist has shifted drastically. Stan Glantz, the eminent cardiologist and one of the people at the epicenter of the our Nation's first smoke free movement in California, once advised me, “So long as the science guides the advocacy rather than the reverse, it’s perfectly acceptable for a scientist to advocate for health policies.”


Given that our tobacco research is often applied to advocate for national, state, and local tobacco control policies, we take several steps to ensure our scientific credibility. First, the people administering our surveys do not have any stake in the outcome of the surveys. To illustrate, the SSRC's Survey Research Laboratory (SRL) administers many of our surveys, and their compensation depends on the quality of their survey administration, not the outcome of the survey. Schoolteachers administer our other surveys, and, like the SRL administrators, these individuals do not have any stake in the survey findings. Second, we release all of our study findings on our website, not just the findings that support particular tobacco control policies. Third, we provide full disclosure of our research methods, as well as the source of funding for our research. By doing so, we provide people with information needed to accurately assess the merit of our research and identify any possible conflicts of interest. These measures protect our scientific integrity and ensure that we continue to let the science guide the advocacy rather than the reverse.

State Trends in Smoke-Free Laws

Twenty-three states and DC have passed statewide smoke-free laws that apply to restaurants, bars, and workplaces. In addition, hundreds of communities have passed local smoke-free laws. Although many Mississippi communities have also passed smoke-free laws, we continue to lag behind the majority of the states. Based on data from American Nonsmokers' Rights.


Motion Chart - click on the play icon in the bottom left corner.

Smoking Attributable Costs to Mississippi

Based on data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention

Local Smoke-Free Ordinances and Restaurants in Mississippi

Background
Although many Mississippi communities have implemented smoke-free ordinances, only 20 percent of Mississippians live in one of these communities. This session, a bill was introduced in both houses of the Mississippi Legislature that would have protected all Mississippians inside of public places. Some Mississippians have expressed concerns that smoke-free laws could harm restaurants and decrease local and state sales tax. Numerous studies and reports from states and communities, based on several objective outcomes which are examined before and after passage of comprehensive smoke-free legislation, revealed no impact or positive impacts on sales tax revenue and employment in the hospitality industry.

Current Situation in Mississippi
Almost half of Mississippi restaurants are located in communities with smoke-free ordinances, and sales tax revenues from restaurants have NOT decreased in the time since the ordinances were enacted. There are currently 37 municipalities in Mississippi that have implemented a comprehensive smoke-free ordinance, and eleven others have passed partial smoke-free ordinances that exempt bars. According to the Mississippi State Department of Health database of restaurants in this state, almost half (46%) of restaurants in this state are in one of these communities and thus are subject to smoke-free ordinances#. Note that this percentage only includes those restaurants in communities with smoke-free ordinances and does not include restaurants that are voluntarily smoke-free, so it’s likely that substantially more than half of restaurants in Mississippi are smoke-free either due to choice or local ordinance. Analysis of sales tax revenue suggests that these smoke-free policies and ordinances have not decreased revenue.

The optional local tourism tax allows us to objectively examine the impact of these smoke-free ordinances. Mississippi cities and towns may implement an additional tourism tax on restaurant and hotel sales. Although not every municipality implements this optional hospitality tax, sixteen of the municipalities that have implemented a comprehensive smoke-free ordinance also have implemented a hospitality tax. Trend analyses for revenue from this tourism tax demonstrates that no community that enacted a smoke-free ordinance experienced a loss in revenue. Tourism tax revenues have been increasing in many of these communities, and have continued to increase following the enactment of smoke-free ordinances. The charts below illustrate revenue trends before and after smoke-free ordinances for several Mississippi communities.

Public Support for a statewide smoke-free law

The latest data from the 2010 Mississippi Social Climate Survey of Tobacco Control reveal strong support for a statewide smoke-free law.