Tobacco Sales and Youth

By Coral Sisk, WHF Associate

Washington law bans the sale of tobacco products to those under 18, and retailers who break that law face stiff penalties. Despite these legal barriers minors obtain tobacco products from many sources including local retailers, friends, and sometimes even family. In Washington State nine percent [1] of youth succeed in buying tobacco products directly from retailers. Even in the face of compliance checks to identify these businesses, only about 90% of Washington’s retailers are fully adhering to the laws that prohibit the sale of tobacco products to minors.

One solution is expanding compliance check programs and increasing the frequency of education efforts among the high turnover employees of these retailers. This has been a priority in Washington State and over the past decade, the percentage of stores illegally selling tobacco to minors has dropped from 15% to below 10%.

Current laws help protect kids from tobacco products that adversely affect their health. Broadly-based local efforts to promote tobacco “law and order” in our convenience stores, a less permissive attitude among parents and friends, and plenty of public attention to the balance between education and enforcement can bring down youth tobacco use.

The Healthiest State Campaign with help from the Washington State Department of Health is reaching out to communities across the state to build a broad-based public/private partnership to prevent chronic diseases. It is all about exploring together the best ways to make healthy choices about diet, exercise and tobacco the easy choices.

To learn more about the Healthiest Communities Partnership, click here.

Reference:

1. Washington State Department of Health, Synar Compliance Check Database 1998-2009

Tobacco Cessation and Social Support Services

By: Coral Sisk, WHF Associate

Science tells us the risk for certain chronic diseases is markedly reduced after smoking cessation. The evidence suggests that many smokers in the U.S. are willing to quit and millions of current U.S. adult smokers have attempted to quit smoking [1].

The most recent data for Washington adults who smoke show that: [2]

· 64% want to quit using tobacco

· 79% of Washingtonians who would like to quit are seriously planning to quit within the next 6 months; 43% are planning to quit within the next 30 days.

· 55% have stopped smoking for at least 1 day in the past 12 months because they were trying to quit.

According to the CDC, effective treatments that can increase the chances of successful cessation include:

• Brief clinical interventions (i.e., when a doctor takes 10 minutes or less to deliver advice and assistance about quitting);
• Counseling (e.g., individual, group, or telephone counseling);
• Behavioral cessation therapies (e.g., training in problem solving);
• Treatments with more person-to-person contact and intensity (e.g., more time with counselors).

Quitting is not easy, but there are resources available in our state for helping Washingtonians quit, including the Washington Tobacco Quit Line. All Washington residents are eligible for some level of free support from the toll-free Tobacco Quit Line (1-800-QUIT-NOW or 1-877-2NO-FUME in Spanish) or using the “Click to Call” feature on www.quitline.com. By clicking the icon, entering name and phone number, the Quit Line will call within 5 minutes to enroll the caller in services. Callers will receive individual counseling, referrals to local cessation programs, and tobacco cessation materials. The CDC reports that brief clinical interventions are one strategy scientifically proven to increase the chances of successful cessation. In June 2005, the Washington Quit Line implemented the Quit Line Fax Referral Program which aims to reduce the barriers faced by health care providers in helping tobacco users quit by integrating the cessation activities into routine health care. The medical provider asks and documents tobacco use, advises users to quit, and assesses interest in quitting. Patients interested in quitting are directly referred to the Washington Quit Line using a faxed referral form. The WAQL confirms the referral and contacts the patient to assist in developing a quit plan and to arrange referrals. Expanding choice-based strategies such as these brings us one step closer to attaining healthiest state status.

The Healthiest State Campaign with help from the Washington State Department of Health is reaching out to communities across the state to build a broad-based public/private partnership to prevent chronic diseases. It is all about exploring together the best ways to make healthy choices about diet, exercise and tobacco the easy choices.

To learn more about the the Healthiest Communities Partnership, click here.

Notes:

1. CDC Smoking Cessation Fact Sheet http://www.cdc.gov/tobacco/data_statistics/fact_sheets/cessation/quitting/index.htm.

2. 2008 Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System (BRFSS), Washington State Department of Health