Trends in Cigarette Smoking -- Wisconsin, 1950-1988
To assess progress in reducing cigarette smoking in Wisconsin,
the Division of Health, Wisconsin Department of Health and Social
Services, analyzed trends in cigarette sales from 1950 to 1988
(1). In Wisconsin, cigarette taxes are levied as an excise tax at
the time cigarettes are shipped from tobacco distribution centers
rather than as sales tax at the time consumers purchase them. To
compensate for the time lag between shipment and sale, a 2-year
moving average* of per capita cigarette sales (2) was calculated.
In this report, per capita sales are the total number of
cigarettes for which Wisconsin state excise tax was paid in a
given year divided by the number of Wisconsin adults (i.e.,
residents greater than or equal to 18 years old).
In 1951, 105 packs of cigarettes (20 cigarettes per pack) were
sold for every adult in the state (Figure 1). Per capita
cigarette sales peaked in 1981 at 118 packs per Wisconsin adult.
Four periods had sustained (greater than or equal to 3 years)
declines in tobacco sales: 1954-1956, 1962-1966, 1969-1971, and
1982-1984. The greatest decline (10%) occurred from 1982 to 1983.
Adapted from: Wisconsin Medical Journal 1989;88(11):40-2, and
reported by: PL Remington, MD, HA Anderson, MD, Div of Health,
Wisconsin Dept of Health and Social Svcs. Div of Field Svcs,
Epidemiology Program Office; Office on Smoking and Health, Center
for Chronic Disease Prevention and Health Promotion, CDC.
Editorial Note
Editorial Note: Since the 1950s, when studies linking lung cancer
with cigarette smoking were first published, efforts to
discourage smoking have increased substantially (3). These
efforts have included mandatory warning labels on cigarette
packs, physicians' advice to quit, antismoking advertising,
worksite smoking-cessation programs, increased restriction on
places to smoke, reduced insurance premiums for nonsmokers, and
increased taxes on cigarettes.
In Wisconsin, the first three periods of decline in per capita
sales might have been related to major national smoking and
health "events" (4). The 1954-1956 decline coincided with the
first major publicity on adverse effects of smoking on health, a
1952 national magazine article linking cancer and cigarettes (4);
the 1962-1966 decline, with the release of additional information
about adverse effects, especially the first Surgeon General's
report on smoking and health in 1964; and the 1969-1971 decline,
with the television broadcast of antismoking public service
announcements during 1967-1970 required by the Federal
Communications Commission's Fairness Doctrine (4).
The largest decrease in cigarette sales occurred during
1982-1984, concurrent with the largest cigarette tax increases:
Wisconsin tax, from 16 cents to 25 cents per pack in 1981-1982
and federal tax, from 8 cents to 16 cents per pack in 1983. This
decrease in cigarette sales in Wisconsin is unlikely to be due to
the purchase of cigarettes by Wisconsin residents in neighboring
states. Even though the price of cigarettes was 5 cents-10 cents
lower per pack in Illinois and Minnesota, Wisconsin netted a 40%
increase in cigarette tax collections from 1981 to 1983. In
addition, cigarette sales did not increase in Wisconsin in 1986,
when Illinois and Minnesota imposed higher cigarette taxes and
the interstate price differential disappeared. The decrease in
cigarette sales also coincided with the enactment of Wisconsin's
Clear Indoor Air Act in 1983 (Figure 1) (5). This act mandated
smoking restrictions in government worksites and public places to
reduce the exposure of nonsmokers to environmental tobacco smoke.
Despite the limitations inherent in ecologic correlations such
as this, the Wisconsin data suggest that three key antismoking
publicity events (in 1952, 1964, and 1967-1970) helped to reduce
cigarette sales. Nonetheless, each of these periods of reduced
sales was followed by an increase in cigarette sales. Only the
fourth period of reduction in cigarette sales (1982-1984) has
been sustained--probably because of continuing interventions,
including taxes and clean indoor air acts. This study suggests
that, because of their continuous nature, public policy changes
such as increased taxes and clean indoor air acts are important
in achieving sustained reductions in tobacco sales.
References
Peterson DE, Remington PL. Publicity, policy, and trends in
cigarette smoking: Wisconsin 1950-1988. Wis Med J
1989;88(11):40-2.
Tobacco Institute. The tax burden on tobacco: historical
compilation. Washington, DC: The Tobacco Institute 1988;23.
CDC. Reducing the health consequences of smoking: 25 years of
progress--a report of the Surgeon General, 1989. Rockville,
Maryland: US Department of Health and Human Services, Public
Health Service, 1989; DHHS publication no. (CDC)89-8411.
Warner KE. Cigarette advertising and media coverage of smoking
and health. N Engl J Med 1985;12:384-8.
Wisconsin Statutes Section 101.123 (1987-88).
*Incorporates data from the previous and the following year to
calculate the value for a given year.
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