Attorney
General Zulima V. Farber joined members
of the National Association of Attorneys
General Tobacco Committee today in announcing
an historic drop in the number of cigarettes
sold in the United States last year. According
to figures compiled by the Tobacco Tax Bureau
of the United States Department of the Treasury,
cigarette sales in 2005 declined by 4.2%
from 2004 levels, marking the largest one-year
percentage decrease in cigarette sales since
1999. Farber said that 2005 cigarette revenues
from sales in New Jersey declined 12.6%
from 2004.
The 2005 sales figures continue a long-term
decline in cigarette smoking that began
with the settlement of lawsuits brought
by state Attorneys General against the major
tobacco companies. Cigarette sales in the
United States have fallen by more than 21%
since the state Attorneys General negotiated
the landmark 1998 tobacco Master Settlement
Agreement (MSA), which imposed public health
restrictions on the advertising, promotion
and marketing of cigarettes by tobacco companies.
The new figures were announced at the National
Association of Attorneys General Spring
meeting in Washington, D.C.
The 378 billion cigarettes sold in the United
States in 2005 represented the lowest number
of cigarettes sold in the United States
since 1951. The United States population
has more than doubled since that time.
“The continuing long-term decline
shows that we are winning the battle against
cigarette smoking and that the MSA and the
other tobacco state settlement agreements
have made a difference,” said Attorney
General Farber. “The decline in 2005
was one of the largest single-year declines
in history and is evidence that the long-term
downward trend is continuing.”
The
MSA created a broad array of restrictions
on the advertising, marketing and promotion
of cigarettes. For example, it prohibited
the targeting of youth in cigarette advertising.
It also prohibited outdoor advertising of
cigarettes and the advertising of cigarettes
in public transit facilities, as well as
the use of cigarette brand names on merchandise,
and a host of other restrictions. The payment
provisions of the MSA were designed to compensate
the states in part for the billions dollars
in health care costs associated with treating
tobacco-related diseases under state Medicaid
programs.
“The
work of the Attorneys General in negotiating
the tobacco MSA focused attention on the
conduct of the tobacco companies and the
dangers of cigarette smoking,” said
Iowa Attorney General Tom Miller, co-chairman
of the National Association of Attorneys
General Tobacco Committee. “The continued
enforcement efforts of the MSA’s provisions
by Attorneys General, along with other health
advocates, have made a marked difference
in the number of smokers across the country,
particularly among youth.”
“It
is not a coincidence that cigarette sales
are down and fewer people are smoking. The
Master Settlement Agreement was designed
to protect the public and reduce cigarette
consumption – and it does just that,”
said Vermont Attorney General Bill Sorrell,
Chair of the American Legacy Foundation,
a national public health organization committed
to building a world where young people reject
tobacco and anyone can quit.
Underscoring
these trends, statistics from the New Jersey
Department of Health and Senior Services
show that among New Jersey youth, current
cigarette use significantly declined from
10.5% in 1999 to 4.1% in 2004 for middle
school students and from 27.6% in 1999 to
17.3% in 2004 for high school students,
according to the New Jersey Youth Tobacco
Survey. Among New Jersey adults, smoking
prevalence decreased from 19.8% in 2000
to 17.4% in 2005, according to the New Jersey
Adult Tobacco Survey.
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