Results Wisconsin Should Be Proud Of
The investment by the state legislature in the Wisconsin Tobacco Prevention and Control Program has been put to good use. Since the program began operating in 2000, there has been significant success:
- Middle school smoking has dropped by 65%
- High school smoking has dropped by 36%
- Adult smoking has reached its lowest rate in Wisconsin history - 19.6%
- In just seven years, the Wisconsin Tobacco Quit Line has helped over 122,000 tobacco users try to quit.
Gains will continue to be made only if Wisconsin continues to invest in tobacco prevention and control.
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We Need to Do More - Since Wisconsin has historically had such high smoking rates, these decreases only put us on par with other states. Despite great effort, 21% of our high school students still smoke.
- Pregnant women smoking rates have declined in Wisconsin, but are still among the highest in the nation. Smoking during pregnancy is 14% in WI and 10% in US.
- Annual healthcare costs in Wisconsin caused by smoking total $2.02 billion. Wisconsin taxpayers pay approximately $601 per household in state and federal taxes for tobacco-caused government expenditures.
Invest in the Future: Fund What Works - Currently, the State Legislature and the Governor invest $15.25 million per year in the program. This is less than a quarter of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) recommended level of $64.3 million.
- In contrast, the tobacco industry spends $276.1 million per year marketing their products in Wisconsin.
- For each smoker who quits, the CDC estimates Wisconsin saves $1,623 in Medicaid and other healthcare costs.
- In states with successful tobacco prevention and control programs, each dollar invested saved more than $3.60 in tobacco-caused healthcare costs.
PDF of page with citations.
