Smoking carries a hefty price tag for all Californians - from the addiction and diseases it causes, to the premature deaths of far too many smokers - it affects our communities and families in many costly and profound ways. A county-by-county report of the costs of smoking in California was recently completed and released on October 15, 2014 by University of California San Francisco researchers. It is the third in a series of reports on California smoking-attributable costs funded by the Tobacco-Related Disease Research Program and the Tobacco Control Program of the CA Department of Health Services. Every ten years, the Cost of Smoking in California report analyzes the economic burden of smoking, illustrating the costs associated with smoking-related illnesses and premature death. The newly released study found the overall cost of smoking for California was $18.1 billion. The full report on cost of smoking in California can be reviewed at http://www.trdrp.org/files/cost-smoking-ca-final-report.pdf
Each Marin resident, including nonsmokers, shells out $551 for the cost of smoking, according to this county–by county report of the costs of smoking in California. The total annual cost of smoking to residents of Marin is $138,354,000. This report did not conduct a Marin County specific smoking prevalence survey but the last Marin specific survey conducted by the California Tobacco Control Program showed that 7.3% of adults in our county still smoke. This report shows that we still have a lot of work to do to reduce smoking.
Although we have made great progress in reducing the number of smokers in Marin and in reducing the secondhand smoke concerns, there remains much to be completed as we strive for a tobacco-free community. The county’s Tobacco Related Disease Control Program is currently working with all local jurisdictions to update their Smoke-Free Ordinances to include: (1) multi-unit housing smoking restrictions; (2) e-cigarette restrictions and; (3) restricting the sale of tobacco in pharmacies. The county also provides cessation services to residents who wish to stop smoking and is actively working with behavioral health providers in an attempt to reach the population of residents with the highest smoking rates.
The Smoke-Free Marin Coalition recently launched a 10-year campaign to improve the health of Marin residents by educating consumers and retailers on how marketing practices influence consumption of unhealthy products and assist in making the retail environment a healthier place for Marin residents. The Healthy Stores for a Healthy Community Campaign is a statewide and local collaboration between tobacco use prevention, nutrition and alcohol prevention partners.
Marin should be proud of our successes in addressing tobacco use and secondhand smoke dangers, but the fight is ongoing and the Smoke-Free Marin Coalition will continue its efforts to free Marin County residents of the tragic and expensive impacts of tobacco and e-cigarette use. Please contact Bob Curry, Marin County Tobacco Related Disease Control Program at rcurry@marincounty.org with any tobacco concerns or questions.