Tobacco Free Amarillo

CONTACT: Mary Coyne, (806) 374-5333, TfreeAmarillo.com, marymary@mids.net

Release:
January 14, 2003

Amarillo Tobacco Prevention Program Reaches All First-Year Goals

(AMARILLO, TX) First-year results from a comprehensive tobacco prevention and control program carried out in Amarillo showed all goals of the program were met, including a 54% decrease in initial tobacco use by 6th graders and a 12.5% reduction in smoking by high school students, according to officials of Tobacco Free Amarillo. The tobacco program is funded by the Amarillo Hospital District from tobacco settlement funds.

At a news conference today, Rebecca Robinson, R.N. Ph.D., of the West Texas A&M University School of Nursing’s Center for Program Evaluation reported the following results for the first year of the program which ran from Oct. 1, 2001 to Sept. 30, 2002:

Goal 1: Decrease the overall rate of initial tobacco use by 6th graders in Amarillo by at least 30%.

• There was a significant decrease (from 14.1% to 6.4%, which is a 54.6% change) of 12-year-olds who reported smoking for the first time at age 10 to 11.

Goal 2: Decrease the overall rate of tobacco use by middle school and high school students in Amarillo by at least 10%.

• The number of youth who reported smoking in the last 30 days is down for students in both middle school (from 22% to 11%, which is a 50% decrease) and high school (from 48% to 42%, which is a 12.5% decrease).

Goal 3: Decrease the adult smoking rate in Amarillo by 3%.

• Of those who smoked in October 2001 during the initial survey, there was a 3.7% reduction demonstrated in the repeat survey conducted in July 2002.

Goal 4: Garner an 85% awareness level of the tobacco prevention and control initiative campaign in Amarillo.

• 88.8% of the adults surveyed stated they had been aware of anti-tobacco media in the previous 30 days (during the Tobacco Free Amarillo campaign.)

During a news conference to announce these results, Karen B. Heusinkveld,
Dr. PH, RN, FAAN, chair of the Texas Division of the American Cancer Society, presented a plaque to the Amarillo Hospital District in recognition of its efforts in tobacco prevention and public health.

“It’s very important for the entire state to know what has happened in Amarillo when tobacco settlement funds are used for the proper purposes -- that is, to prevent death and disease from tobacco use,” Dr. Heusinkveld said.

“The Amarillo Hospital District board has set an excellent example for other public entities throughout this state,” Dr. Heusinkveld said. “Amarillo is a much healthier city than it was a year ago, and that’s because this hospital district board has been so progressive in using tobacco settlement funds for tobacco prevention and cessation programs.”

The Tobacco Free Amarillo project is considered “comprehensive” because it includes six components: a community program, school program, media, cessation activities, law enforcement and evaluation. For the 2003 grant period, the law enforcement component will be funded through other state grants.

Tobacco Free Amarillo is a comprehensive tobacco prevention and cessation program funded by the Amarillo Hospital District from tobacco settlement money (the first hospital district in Texas to do so). Activities involving the community, schools, media, cessation, law enforcement and evaluation are carried out by about 30 partner organizations. For more information, visit the Tobacco Free Amarillo Web site at TFreeAmarillo.com or call the Tobacco Free Amarillo office at (806) 353-7435.

Tobacco Free Amarillo Impact Evaluation Studies Key Findings

Youth Tobacco Survey

• There was a significant decrease in the percentage of Middle School and High School students who smoked one or more cigarettes during the 30 days preceding the surveys. (Middle school decreased 50% and high school decreased 12.5%.)
• Significantly more students (5.5%) reported receiving a ticket and significantly more high school students (7.0%) reported knowing someone who received a ticket.
• Significantly more high school students (23.4%) reported a significant increase in refused sale of smokeless tobacco
• An increase (8.3%) of middle school smokers said they could easily obtain tobacco on school property in the follow-up survey.
• There was a significant increase (3.5%) in the percentage of high school students who recalled seeing anti-tobacco TV ads.
• Middle school students who had never smoked were significantly more likely to report an increase in seeing anti-smoking billboard ads.

Adult Tobacco Survey

• Of those who smoked in the initial study in October, there was an 3.7% reduction of smokers in the repeat survey.
• None of those quitting attended classes or counseling; one used a patch, 2 reported using telephone counseling, 2 received counseling from their doctor and 2 received counseling from a dentist. All were female
• 40.7% of the follow-up smokers reported seeing TV ads at least daily while only 24.6% of smokers in the baseline reported seeing TV ads at least daily.
• Other evidence that the media campaign reached the smoking audience:
  - 88.8% saw anti-smoking ads on TV in the last 30 days
  - 37% heard anti-smoking radio programs
  - 29.6 % reported reading anti-smoking in articles or newspapers
  - 59.2% have seen billboards or posters

Health Care Provider Survey

• An increase of 12.8% of health care providers asked about tobacco use as a part of routine patient visits.
• An increase of 10.4% of providers who responded to the repeat survey knew there was a toll free telephone “quit line” of which to inform patients.
  

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