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TRENTON-The
New Jersey Department of Health and Senior Services today released
the state's 2001 New Jersey
Comprehensive Tobacco Control Program Annual Report, outlining
the program's results in its second year.
"One
of the most important investments we can make is in the health of
our state's residents," said Health and Senior Service Commissioner
Clifton R. Lacy, M.D. "This report shows that by attacking
tobacco use from many different angles, we can make real, sustained
progress in the drive to improve the health of all New Jerseyans.
That is why the McGreevey Administration has proposed dedicating
$30 million in the FY03 budget to continue the vital work of the
state's Comprehensive Tobacco Control Program."
"In
less than two years, our program has been able to reduce the number
of smokers, especially young people," added Dr. Lacy. "This
reduction is significant because cigarette smoking is the single
most preventable cause of death and disease in the nation - and
is responsible for more than a quarter of all cancer deaths in New
Jersey."
The
Annual Report presents the achievements, priorities and major initiatives
of the program over the past year. Following are highlights:
Tobacco
Use Declines Among Middle School and High School Students
The
Annual Report documents the 2001 New Jersey Youth Tobacco Survey,
commissioned by the department and conducted by the University of
Medicine and Dentistry of New Jersey - School of Public Health,
which compares 2001 results to baseline data from 1999:
New Jersey's Cessation Programs Are Building Momentum
More than 1 million New Jerseyans smoke. Nearly seven out of 10
of these smokers want to quit. Under the Comprehensive Tobacco Control
Program, New Jersey offers three customized no- or low-cost cessation
services: New Jersey Quitnetsm (www.nj.quitnet.com), a free online
information, counseling, and referral resource; New Jersey Quitline
(1-866-NJ-STOPS), a toll-free, no-cost telephone counseling service;
and New Jersey Quitcenters, face-to-face clinics offer counseling
on a sliding fee scale. During 2001:
- More
than 70 percent of smokers who called New Jersey Quitline enrolled
in counseling, and 26 percent of smokers who registered reported
being smoke-free after six months, well above the national average
of 10 to 12 percent for such programs.
- New
Jersey Quitnet had nearly 200,000 visitor sessions in its first
14 months. Visitors spent an average of 12.5 minutes on the site,
above the general average of 10 minutes per visit to sites on
the Internet.
- New
Jersey Quitcenters expanded to 15 locations throughout the State,
with the four newest locations opening in March 2002.
Community
Partnership Efforts
The
department collaborates with a statewide network of community partners
to build the Comprehensive Tobacco Control Program at the grassroots
level. The report highlights partnership initiatives that resulted
in notable changes in communities in 2001:
- Owners
of 977 New Jersey restaurants voluntarily adopted smoke-free policies,
bringing the statewide total to 2,077. And 250 other New Jersey
businesses adopted smoke-free policies.
- As
of February 2002, 264 New Jersey municipalities' enacted 374 smoke-free
ordinances to reduce the public's exposure to environmental tobacco
smoke.
- Grassroots
tobacco education initiatives reached more than 160,000 individuals
last year.
The
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recently ranked New Jersey
11th among states in committing a substantial portion of Master
Tobacco Settlement Agreement funds for tobacco control programs.
In two years, we have established an evidence-based comprehensive
program following the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
(CDC) Best Practices, and models by California and Massachusetts,
states with extensive experience in tobacco control.
Savings
produced by the California program in direct medical costs alone
are estimated at $3.02 billion dollars between 1990 and 1998, or
$3.62 for every dollar spent on the program. A 1999 Massachusetts
Institute of Technology study found that Massachusetts saves $2
in healthcare costs for every dollar spent on tobacco prevention.
New
Jersey's Comprehensive Tobacco Control Program is designed to reduce
sickness, disability, and death among New Jerseyans associated with
the use of tobacco and exposure to environmental tobacco smoke.
To obtain a copy of the 2001 New Jersey Comprehensive Tobacco
Control Program Annual Report, log onto www.state.nj.us/health.
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