TOBACCO CONTROL POLICIES: Do They Make a Difference for Low Socioeconomic Status Women and Girls?

Although overall tobacco use has declined dramatically since 1965 in the United States, this decline has not been distributed equally across populations. Notably, the decline in smoking among women has not been as striking as that seen in men. Lung cancer surpassed breast cancer in 1987 as the leading cause of cancer deaths in women, and lung cancer rates among women continue to rise. In response to this health crisis, tobacco control experts have used comprehensive tobacco control policies and programs to stem tobacco’s deadly march

While tobacco control policies—such as increases in cigarette prices and excise taxes, worksite smoking bans, and focused youth media campaigns—show promise for reducing smoking among the general population, their effectiveness is less clear among women who are poor, do not have a high school diploma, and work in blue-collar and service positions. We know that racial/ethnic disparities in cigarette smoking and exposure to tobacco smoke exist in the United States. Also known is that women of lower socioeconomic status have higher rates of tobacco use and suffer disproportionately from tobacco’s burden.

This book contains information on effects of tobacco control policies on low socioeconomic status women and girls, identified research gaps, and developed transdisciplinary research ideas to catalyze continued dialogue and translation of research into practical interventions. Significantly, this served to confirm our belief that we can reduce the harm tobacco causes among low socioeconomic status women and girls.