WASHINGTON, D.C. August 2, 2012 A significant decrease in cigarette consumption between 2000 and 2011 was offset by the use of other forms of smoked tobacco, according to a report released today by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention 's (CDC) Office on Smoking and Health (OSH). æThe article, entitled Consumption of Cigarettes and Combustible TobaccoäóîUnited States, 2000 2011, is featured in this week 's issue of the CDC journal, Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report.
The report details that despite a 33 percent decrease in cigarette consumption over the 11-year span, a 482 percent increase in usage of pipe tobacco, which is often used to make roll-your-own cigarettes, and a 233 percent increase in large cigar use show Americans are resorting to these combustible tobacco products as a way to avoid increased cigarette taxes.
A statement from Chris Hansen, president of the American Cancer Society Cancer Action Network (ACS CAN) follows:
The CDC 's data clearly demonstrate that the disparity in tax treatment of tobacco products is undercutting our ability to effectively reduce tobacco use and save lives.
Tax loopholes harm public health by encouraging use of lower-taxed tobacco products, and they have cost governments more than $1 billion in revenue since 2009. More smokers who might otherwise quit are now resorting to other types of tobacco products, including cigars and pipe tobacco, because of lower taxes resulting in overall lower costs. The CDC 's findings are consistent with a Government Accountability Office report issued in April that found the same disparities in consumption of smoked tobacco products.
Tobacco use remains the leading cause of preventable deaths in this country, killing approximately 443,000 Americans each year and costing the health care system $96 billion annually. The evidence is clear that raising tobacco prices through higher taxes is one of the most effective ways to reduce tobacco use, especially among children. ACS CAN supports several pending federal bills and state efforts to close these loopholes, which will help more Americans quit using tobacco and help prevent young people from getting hooked in the first place.
ACS CAN, the nonprofit, nonpartisan advocacy affiliate of the American Cancer Society, supports evidence-based policy and legislative solutions designed to eliminate cancer as a major health problem. ACS CAN works to encourage elected officials and candidates to make cancer a top national priority. ACS CAN gives ordinary people extraordinary power to fight cancer with the training and tools they need to make their voices heard. For more information, visit www.fightcancer.org.
FOR MORE INFORMATION, CONTACT:
Lauren Walens or Steven Weiss
American Cancer Society Cancer Action Network
Phone: (202) 661-5763 or (202) 661-5711
Email: [email protected] or [email protected]
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