Interactive Tool Will Provide Latest Data on State Smoking Laws and Tobacco Control Spending
http://www.rwjf.org/publichealth/product.jsp?id=56548
For the first time, a new interactive map from the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation will give policy-makers and advocates a nationwide picture of continuing state efforts on key tobacco control policies.
“Users will be able to see whether a state is ahead or behind the curve in protecting and promoting health,” says Michelle Larkin, J.D., M.S., R.N., leader of RWJF’s Public Health Team.
The RWJF Tobacco Map uses data from the Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids and the Americans for Non-Smokers’ Rights and will be updated as new information becomes available. The tool is easily shareable by hyperlink or embeddable code.
The “map” is actually three distinct maps, each focusing on a different aspect of tobacco policy:
* state-by-state breakdowns on smoke-free laws,
* cigarette tax rates, and
* total tobacco control spending.
The breakdowns include population, timeline and other information to help present a complete picture of each state’s efforts.
“We know from the research that the two most effective policies to pursue are raising tobacco taxes and putting smoke-free air laws into place,” says Larkin, adding that “these two policies help to prevent youth from ever starting to smoke and they also help smokers quit.”
In the video Larkin points out that the interactive map tool, which will be updated whenever states introduce or change key tobacco policy laws, will be a valuable resource to help advocates and policy makers see how their own state policies stack up against others.
View Video: http://www.rwjf.org/publichealth/product.jsp?id=56728
Tobacco is an annual or bi-annual growing 1-3 meters tall with large sticky leaves that contain nicotine. Native to the Americas, tobacco has a long history of use as a shamanic inebriant and stimulant. It is extremely popular and well-known for its addictive potential.
Nicotiana rustica leaves.
Nicotiana rustica leaves have a nicotine content as high as 9%, whereas Nicotiana tabacum (common tobacco) leaves contain about 1 to 3%
A cigar is a tightly rolled bundle of dried and fermented tobacco which is ignited so that its smoke may be drawn into the mouth. Cigar tobacco is grown in significant quantities in Brazil, Cameroon, Cuba, Dominican Republic, Honduras, Indonesia, Mexico, Nicaragua, Sumatra, Philippines, and the Eastern United States.
Tobacco is an agricultural product processed from the fresh leaves of plants in the genus Nicotiana. It can be consumed, used as an organic pesticide, and in the form of nicotine tartrate it is used in some medicines. In consumption it may be in the form of cigarettes smoking, snuffing, chewing, dipping tobacco, or snus.
