Advocacy Project: Healthy People/THOMAS

Goal: Reduce illness, disability, and death related to tobacco use and exposure to secondhand smoke.

Objective: Reduce the proportion of adolescents in grades 6 through 12 exposed to tobacco advertising and promotion. According to the target and baseline data chart the site used two categories to base their data on. The categories were: Internet advertising and promotion and Magazine and newspaper advertising and promotion. In the year 2000 the baseline for Internet advertising and promotion was at 28% and the target for 2010 is 28%. Magazine and newspaper advertising baseline was 74% in 2000 and the target for 2010 is 67%. Target setting method: Better than the best. Data source: National Youth Tobacco Survey (NYTS), American Legacy Foundation, and CDC. Progress was mixed regarding exposure to tobacco advertising for students in grades 9 through 12 (27-16). Advertising in magazines and newspapers (27-16b) targeted primarily to adolescents decreased by 4 percentage points between 2000 and 2002. In 2000, 74 percent of students in grades 9 through 12 reported exposure to tobacco advertising and promotions in magazines and newspapers. In 2002, that number dropped to 70 percent, moving toward the target of 67 percent. However, advertising via the Internet (27-16a) increased. Tobacco advertising exposure rates for high school students increased from 28 percent in 2000 to 38 percent in 2002. Because the Internet has become an integral source of news, information, and communication among younger populations, much work needs to be done to achieve this objective. In 2003, tobacco companies' advertising expenditures represented more than 23 times what States spend on tobacco prevention and control. The tobacco industry has increased its expenditures for advertising and promotions. In 2003, cigarette companies spent $15.15 billion on advertising and promotions, the most ever reported to the Federal Trade Commission. 

Progress: Exposure to tobacco advertising: grades 9-12 (2000, 2002), Internet advertising and promotion -333% (27-16a) moved away from target and for Magazine and newspaper advertising and promotion (27-16b) 57% moved toward target.

Opportunities/Challenges/Emerging Issues: Monitoring emerging tobacco control issues is important because information is continually being acquired to explain the link between use and behavior, exposure, and multiple adverse health outcomes. Research on tobacco product toxicity and the subsequent health effects increases the understanding of individual and population risks of tobacco use as well as overall patterns of use of tobacco products. Internet sale of tobacco products has emerged as an issue of increasing concern, especially as it applies to youth. Internet vendors have weak or nonexistent age verification mechanisms, potentially allowing underage youth to access cigarettes and other tobacco products. Such access may mitigate successful efforts to reduce sales of tobacco products to youth in traditional retail outlets. Finally, as youth access to retail sources of tobacco declines, access to tobacco products through other sources is emerging as an issue. Recent surveys indicate that youth report most commonly obtaining tobacco from other sources, including friends and family. Current knowledge on effective strategies to reduce access to tobacco through social sources is limited. In conclusion, a majority of the objectives made progress toward their targets. Most of the objectives that are not currently measurable are expected to have data by the end of the decade. Focusing on youth smoking is a key aspect in achieving the Healthy People 2010 goal to reduce illness, disability, and death related to tobacco use and exposure to secondhand smoke. Analyses of CDC's national Youth Risk Behavior Surveys show that lifetime, current, and current frequent cigarette use among high school students was stable or increased during the late 1990s and then decreased significantly from the late 1990s to 2003. However, decreases in State funding and the increase in tobacco advertising and promotional expenditures will likely have a negative impact on many of the objectives, including a potential deceleration of the rate of decline in cigarette use among high school students over the past several years.

H.R. 1261: Youth Prevention and Tobacco Harm Reduction Act.

Title: To protect the public health by establishing the Tobacco Harm Reduction Center within the Department of Health and Human Services with certain authority to regulate tobacco products, and for other purposes. 

Sponsor: Rep Buyer, Steve [IN-4] (Introduced 3/3/2009)

Co-sponsors (29):

There are way too many co-sponsors so I'm only going to name a few here.

Rep Bishop, Sanford D., Jr. [GA-2] - 3/5/2009

Rep Bright, Bobby [AL-2] - 3/30/2009

Rep Burgess, Michael C. [TX-26] - 3/3/2009

Rep Burton, Dan [IN-5] - 3/23/2009

Rep Coble, Howard [NC-6] - 3/3/2009

Latest Major Action: 3/4/2009 Referred to House subcommittee. Status: Referred to the Subcommittee on Health.

Recommendation: Yes on H.R. 1261: Youth Prevention and Tobacco Harm Reduction Act of 2009.

My Political Representative: Congressman Chip Cravaack (GOP).

Sources: Healthy People 2010 and THOMAS