Anti-Smoking Programs Are Slashed

[Vocalek]

Many cash-strapped U.S. states are slashing budgets for tobacco-prevention programs, raising alarms among public-health groups as the nation's progress toward getting adult smokers to quit has stalled.

As Smoking Rates Persist, Cessation Efforts Are Cut - WSJ.com

 

[t9c]

Ha! Serves them right for diverting their settlement funds to begin with. That seems to be the point of the article IMO.

 

[Vocalek]

And to follow the logic:

You smokers cost us a great deal of money in health care costs.
Therefore we are raising taxes on your smokes.
We are using the extra money to provide health care to uninsured children.
You will have to pay for your own health care.

 

[maxx]

The tobacco tax well is running dry...not enough people smoking to maintain government. This is what happens when you get government addicted to tobacco tax dollars. There will be more cuts, and not just in the smoking arena, unless they can come up with a new tax whipping boy. Look out drinkers and fast food eaters....c'mon down, you're the next contestant on The Tax is Right.

 

[kristin]

People were quitting smoking so the tax revenue from tobacco decreased and now they don't have enough money to pay for programs.

They need people to start smoking again so they discontinue anti-smoking campaigns.

 

[Bill Godshall]

In the WSJ article, the CDC again claimed that smoking rates are no longer declining, which contradicts the survey data released by CDC last week. I sent the following to my e-mail list yesterday exposing the CDC misrepresentation of its own survey data (finding significant declines in smoking) and its misleading claims about the health risks of smokeless tobacco compared to cigarettes.


CDC Finds, But Fails to Report, Record Low Adult Smoking Rates in 2009

BRFSS finds record low daily and overall smoking rates (12.7%, 17.7%), significant declines from 2008-2009 (-5%, -3%), from 2007-2008 (-8%, -7%), and from 2005-2009 (-17%, -14%)
BRFSS Prevalence Data Comparison - Display Comparison
State-Specific Prevalence of Cigarette Smoking and Smokeless Tobacco Use Among Adults --- United States, 2009

BRFSS Median % Cigarette Smokers
Year Everyday Some days
2005 15.3 5.2
2006 14.7 5.1
2007 14.5 5.2
2008 13.4 4.9
2009 12.7 5.0

But two months ago, CDC claimed no decline in smoking rate from 2008-2009, no significant decline from 2005-2009 (9/10/10)
Vital Signs: Current Cigarette Smoking Among Adults Aged ≥18 Years --- United States, 2009

And last year, CDC claimed no significant decline in smoking rate from 2007-2008 (11/13/09)
Cigarette Smoking Among Adults and Trends in Smoking Cessation --- United States, 2008

So why does the CDC continue claiming that smoking rates aren't declining when CDC BRFSS data find exact opposite?

- - -

Instead of reporting record low smoking rate when releasing 2009 BRFSS tobacco use data, CDC chose to mislead the public about smokeless tobacco products and cigarettes.
State-Specific Prevalence of Cigarette Smoking and Smokeless Tobacco Use Among Adults --- United States, 2009

CDC claim: "The health consequences of cigarette smoking and smokeless tobacco use both have been well documented, including increased risk for lung, throat, oral, and other types of cancers (1,2)."

FACT: cigarette smoking poses 10-1000 times greater mortality risks than smokeless tobacco use.
http://www.rcplondon.ac.uk/pubs/contents/e226ee0c-ccef-4dba-b62f-86f046371dfb.pdf
Harm Reduction Journal | Full text | Tobacco harm reduction: an alternative cessation strategy for inveterate smokers

CDC claim: "Research suggests that persons who use multiple tobacco products might have a more difficult time quitting, which might result in longer durations of product use and an increased likelihood of experiencing tobacco-related morbidity and mortality (5,6)."

FACT: Research in US, Sweden and Norway has found that smokers who begin using smokeless tobacco products are twice as likely to quit smoking as cigarette-only users.
http://www.rcplondon.ac.uk/pubs/contents/e226ee0c-ccef-4dba-b62f-86f046371dfb.pdf
Harm Reduction Journal | Full text | Tobacco harm reduction: an alternative cessation strategy for inveterate smokers
The association between use of snus and quit rates for smoking: results from seven Norwegian cross-sectional studies - Lund - 2010 - Addiction - Wiley Online Library

"Other reports also have found that young men have a high prevalence of cigarette smoking and smokeless tobacco use in the United States and that smokeless tobacco might be a starter product for cigarette smoking among young men (6,7)."

FACT: The majority of studies and reports have found that twice as many smokers have switched to smokeless tobacco (than smokeless tobacco users who switched to cigarettes). If the CDC truly desired to discourage smokeless tobacco users from switching to cigarettes, the agency would truthfully inform smokeless tobacco users that cigarettes are far more hazardous alternatives.
http://www.rcplondon.ac.uk/pubs/contents/e226ee0c-ccef-4dba-b62f-86f046371dfb.pdf
Harm Reduction Journal | Full text | Tobacco harm reduction: an alternative cessation strategy for inveterate smokers
State-Specific Prevalence of Cigarette Smoking and Smokeless Tobacco Use Among Adults --- United States, 2009

More inaccurate and misleading claims (this past week) about smokeless tobacco compared to cigarettes

"Tobacco use is the leading preventable cause of death in this country and unfortunately smokers are also using smokeless
tobacco," CDC Director Dr. Tom Frieden said in an agency news release.
HealthDay Articles

FACT: Cigarette smoking is the leading preventable cause of death in this country and increasingly more smokers are reducing their health risks by switching to or substituting far less hazardous smokeless tobacco.
http://www.rcplondon.ac.uk/pubs/contents/e226ee0c-ccef-4dba-b62f-86f046371dfb.pdf
Harm Reduction Journal | Full text | Tobacco harm reduction: an alternative cessation strategy for inveterate smokers
State-Specific Prevalence of Cigarette Smoking and Smokeless Tobacco Use Among Adults --- United States, 2009

"The bottom line here: Smokeless tobacco makes it more likely that kids will start smoking and make it harder to quit smoking," said the CDC's director, Dr. Tom Frieden.
The Associated Press: Wyoming, W. Va. lead in chewing tobacco use

FACT: Smokeless tobacco makes it less likely that kids will start smoking and makes it easier for smokers to quit smoking.
http://www.rcplondon.ac.uk/pubs/contents/e226ee0c-ccef-4dba-b62f-86f046371dfb.pdf
Harm Reduction Journal | Full text | Tobacco harm reduction: an alternative cessation strategy for inveterate smokers
Smokeless Tobacco Use, Initiation, and Relationship to Cigarette Smoking: 2002 to 2007

"Using smokeless tobacco can keep the nicotine habit alive, making it even harder to quit than going cold turkey," Terry Pechacek, PhD, of the CDC, tells WebMD.
"The tobacco companies market smokeless tobacco as a substitute for smokers, but they don’t help people quit smoking," Pechacek tells WebMD.
Smokeless Tobacco Rates on the Rise

FACT: Substituting smokeless tobacco for cigarettes can sharply reduce health risks. Tobacco companies are marketing smokeless tobacco as a substitute because many smokers want less hazardous smokefree alternatives to cigarettes.
http://www.rcplondon.ac.uk/pubs/contents/e226ee0c-ccef-4dba-b62f-86f046371dfb.pdf
Harm Reduction Journal | Full text | Tobacco harm reduction: an alternative cessation strategy for inveterate smokers

"Using smokeless tobacco products, like chew, is not a safe way to quit or a healthier alternative to smoking," said Daniel Deschler, MD, chair of the AAO-HNS Head and Neck Surgery/Oncology Committee. "The use of these products just shifts the increased risk of cancer to the mouth, head, and neck."
"But many people use smokeless tobacco products as a temporary aid while they try quit smoking cigarettes," said Dr. Deschler. "Everyone needs to know that this is not a healthy or useful way to wean yourself off smoking. For many, it can turn into another deadly habit."
Kicking Tobacco Means Kicking It All!

FACT: Switching from cigarettes to smokeless tobacco products signficantly reduces risks for heart disease, respiratory disease and cancer of the mouth, head, neck, lung, larynx. More than a million smokers have already quit smoking by switching to smokeless tobacco.
http://www.rcplondon.ac.uk/pubs/contents/e226ee0c-ccef-4dba-b62f-86f046371dfb.pdf
Harm Reduction Journal | Full text | Tobacco harm reduction: an alternative cessation strategy for inveterate smokers

So why does the CDC continue deceiving tobacco consumers and the public to believe that smokeless tobacco is as hazardous as cigarettes, and why does the CDC oppose smokers reducing their health risks (by switching to far less hazardous smokeless tobacco)?

Bill Godshall
Executive Director
Smokefree Pennsylvania
1926 Monongahela Avenue
Pittsburgh, PA 15218
412-351-5880
FAX 412-351-5881
smokefree@compuserve.com

 

[kristin]

Scary stuff, Bill.

 

[Bill Godshall]

Ever since Tom Frieden (who used to be the NYC Health Director) was appointed by Obama to become CDC Director, the CDC has much more aggressively opposed smokeless tobacco products (including opposing smokeless as a less hazardous alternative for smokers).

 

[D103]

If there is anyone left who doesn't believe this is ALL about the MONEY - PLEASE open your eyes!! MAXX your post is right on the money (pun intended) and the search for new (additional) whipping boys is well underway. I look for the propaganda from Tobacco Control to really ramp up now - their livelihoods are being threatened through funding cuts. Keep an eye out for more bogus studies, even loonier junk-science, and increased scare tactics. The mongrels are circling the 'picked clean to the bone' budget carcasses and it's going to get even uglier.
How about a good old fashion mud wrestling contest between the "Anti-Fatties and the Anti-smokers" fighting for the coveted "TAX HAMMER/BUDGETARY PRIORITY" award which allows the winning side to pass excessive tax legislation for their "cause" i.e. fat/calorie taxes, funding for prevention/nutrition programs, BANS on certain fast foods and pastries, 'price per pound' ticket-cost guidelines for commercial transportation(buses, taxis, airplanes, trains), governmental 'calorie-controlled' debit cards for all grocery purchases with federal guidelines for caloric limits for individuals and famlies, soda-tax, elimination of Halloween or a government mandate restricting the exchange of ANY perishables-only FDA approved, sealed, health-food snacks are allowed, Federal guidelines mandating strict employment standards to include an approved/acceptable BMI range, long-term W.H.O. approved goals for the total elimination of all candy, blah, blah, blah; and we all know the Anti-Smoking agenda
Any betting persons out there? And you think I'm kidding........keep watching

 

[pianoguy]

If there is anyone left who doesn't believe this is ALL about the MONEY - PLEASE open your eyes!! MAXX your post is right on the money (pun intended) and the search for new (additional) whipping boys is well underway. I look for the propaganda from Tobacco Control to really ramp up now - their livelihoods are being threatened through funding cuts. Keep an eye out for more bogus studies, even loonier junk-science, and increased scare tactics. The mongrels are circling the 'picked clean to the bone' budget carcasses and it's going to get even uglier.
How about a good old fashion mud wrestling contest between the "Anti-Fatties and the Anti-smokers" fighting for the coveted "TAX HAMMER/BUDGETARY PRIORITY" award which allows the winning side to pass excessive tax legislation for their "cause" i.e. fat/calorie taxes, funding for prevention/nutrition programs, BANS on certain fast foods and pastries, 'price per pound' ticket-cost guidelines for commercial transportation(buses, taxis, airplanes, trains), governmental 'calorie-controlled' debit cards for all grocery purchases with federal guidelines for caloric limits for individuals and famlies, soda-tax, elimination of Halloween or a government mandate restricting the exchange of ANY perishables-only FDA approved, sealed, health-food snacks are allowed, Federal guidelines mandating strict employment standards to include an approved/acceptable BMI range, long-term W.H.O. approved goals for the total elimination of all candy, blah, blah, blah; and we all know the Anti-Smoking agenda
Any betting persons out there? And you think I'm kidding........keep watching

This is already occurring to some extent - not necessarily by the gubbermint's hand yet. My wife's company is considering bringing in some kind of wellness managment outfit to determine how much each employee pays for their health insurance (the % the employee pays vs. the % the company pays). A blood draw would be required - if the employee refuses, they could still get coverage, but would have to pay the entire tab. If the employee smokes, or has high BMI, or high cholesterol, or who knows what else, they'd have to get on some kind of treatment plan, and their rates would be higher until such time that the situation changes.

 

[Lil' Lou]

Look out drinkers and fast food eaters....c'mon down, you're the next contestant on The Tax is Right.

LOL - that's awesome!

 

[Vocalek]

This is already occurring to some extent - not necessarily by the gubbermint's hand yet. My wife's company is considering bringing in some kind of wellness managment outfit to determine how much each employee pays for their health insurance (the % the employee pays vs. the % the company pays). A blood draw would be required - if the employee refuses, they could still get coverage, but would have to pay the entire tab. If the employee smokes, or has high BMI, or high cholesterol, or who knows what else, they'd have to get on some kind of treatment plan, and their rates would be higher until such time that the situation changes.

Now that is really scary! I feel like I just woke up in the middle of 1984. Not the year, the book.

 

[pianoguy]

Now that is really scary! I feel like I just woke up in the middle of 1984. Not the year, the book.

Exactly. Big Brother IS watching.

 

[Bill Godshall]

The folks at CDC don't care about cigarette tax revenue, but rather the CDC (and CTFK, ACS, AHA, ALA) have been advocating (for more than two decades) for increased state funding of tobacco control programs (because that's what has helped pay their salaries and funded the programs they've run).

And for the past decade, the CDC, CTFK, ACS, AHA, ALA have continuously complained that states have cut spending (the vast majority of which came from the MSA) on tobacco control programs.

In their unsuccessful attempts to obtain more government funding (to put in their own pockets), government health agencies and their contractors and partners (i.e. CTFK, ACS, AHA, ALA) have been falsely claiming that the smoking rate is no longer declining because of the government funding cutbacks, which is inaccurate because:
- CDC BRFSS data show that smoking rates have steadily declined during recent years, and
- the vast majority of government funded tobacco control programs have had little or no impact on smoking rate (and their programs opposing smokeless tobacco and e-cigarettes help keep smoking rates from declining).

But the bottom line (especially after last week's election) is that even more states are going to further reduce funding for tobacco control programs, which will result in CDC, CTFK, ACS, AHA, ALA complaining about it even more.

As one who aggressively advocated funding for tobacco education and cessation programs more a decade ago (and as one who was primarily responsible for PA appropriating $44 million annually of MSA funds for those programs starting in 2002), I've been extremely disappointed with how the money was spent (er wasted) by PA DOH bureaucrats and their contractors (as it was never spent the way I intended it to be when I advocated for the funding).

 

[Stubby]

Well golly gee Bill..... your surprised they wasted the money. TC is now.... and has been for a long time...... morally bankrupt. Millions are poured into it and nothing but gibberish comes out. Though I would guess there are a lot of people walking around with fat wallets