Tally of tobacco's grim toll: The numbers on death and illness

The AMA's annual report on tobacco paints a grim picture of the deadly industry's toll.

Editorial. May 20, 2002.

The tentacles of the worldwide tobacco industry are so long and the damage the companies do is so deep that toting up even only the most recent developments of this public health crisis requires 54 pages.

That's the length of the AMA's 2002 Annual Tobacco Report, to be presented to delegates at the Association's Annual Meeting in June. It is a mix of the good and the bad news, drawn from recent research and events, accompanied by numerous statistics.

Among the good news closest to home: Tobacco use among pregnant women in the United States is significantly down in recent years -- a one-third drop from 1990 to 1999 (but still 12% by the end of that period). There is also a decline, albeit a more modest one, in youth smoking, from college age on down, stemming from about the time of marketing changes mandated by the Master Settlement Agreement between states and the tobacco industry. (Even so, the most recent data sadly show that more than one-third of college students smoked within 30 days of being asked, and another study found that 7% of eighth graders were smokers.)

The period covered by the report saw some tobacco taxes go up -- congratulations to New York, Utah and Connecticut, among others -- a good thing because it is a proven damper to consumption. Also up are the number of indoor air laws. These and other elements of a comprehensive policy are both endorsed and aided by organized medicine, most notably through the AMA's SmokeLess States National Tobacco Policy Initiative. The program's own notable statistics: $35 million in grants awarded last year to 40 statewide coalitions to promote tobacco control. [...]