Prevention Matters

Partnership for Prevention is pleased to submit these comments to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration in regard to required textual warnings and accompanying graphics to be displayed on cigarette packages and in cigarette advertisements.

Partnership commends the FDA on the development of the new graphic health warnings. We urge the FDA to proceed with the implementation of the warnings without delay. The tobacco industry will inevitably work to impede and overturn the plans for the new health warnings on cigarette packages and advertisements, to take effect 15 months after issuance of this final rule. However, it is crucial that the FDA stay the course. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, an estimated 46 million people (aged 18 years and older) in the United States currently smoke cigarettes. Each day in the U.S., approximately 3,450 young people between 12 and 17 years of age smoke their first cigarette, and an estimated 850 youth become daily cigarette smokers. These statistics make it clear that more needs to be done to reduce the initiation of tobacco use and the prompt enforcement of this Family Smoking Prevention and Tobacco Control Act requirement will be a step in the right direction. These graphic health warnings will not only help young people to never start smoking, but also be beneficial in helping adults to quit.

Partnership for Prevention also strongly supports that 1-800-QUITNOW be required on all cigarette packages as a way to offer help to smokers who want to quit. A report released by the North American Quitline Consortium in 2010 showed that the total number of tobacco users accessing quitline services in FY 2009 was 515,000 (representing 1.2 percent of smokers), an increase of 129.7% over the FY 2005 level of 224,000. Quitlines are being used now more than ever so including the national access number on cigarette packages would be a simple and practical way to aid smokers who want to quit.

We thank you for the opportunity to comment on the cigarette warning labels and for your consideration of our views. Please contact David Zauche, Managing Senior Fellow & Senior Program Officer, at (202) 375-7807 or dzauche@prevent.org for further information or assistance.

More U.S. smokers than ever are utilizing telephone quitlines to help them stop smoking. However, budget cuts are now limiting access to this critical service according to a report released today by the North American Quitline Consortium and other public health organizations.

"At a time when demand for quitlines is at a record level, it is more important than ever to support proven tobacco cessation efforts,” said Linda Bailey, president and chief executive officer of the North American Quitline Consortium (NAQC). "The investment of $2.19 per capita for quitlines, as recommended by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, is based on sound science and real-world experience. States that made the necessary investments have been able to provide cessation services to the growing number of smokers who want to quit. We commend the states that have committed the necessary funding to quitline services and encourage them to continue this practice."

The number of tobacco users calling quitlines—a telephone helpline where smokers can turn for trusted, reliable help when they want to quit—increased 116% between 2005 and 2009, according to the report. Despite this increase in demand, total funding for all U.S. quitlines decreased for the first time ever in Fiscal Year (FY) 2010. Funding has been cut despite the fact that states will collect $25.1 billion in revenue this year from tobacco taxes and legal settlements with the tobacco industry, and more states have already enacted or are considering tobacco tax increases this year. These increases will motivate more smokers to try to quit and provide additional revenue that states can use to fund quitlines and other tobacco prevention and cessation programs.

David Zauche
Senior Program Officer
Partnership for Prevention