Mississippi Tobacco Data: Advancing tobacco control in 2024

Mississippi Tobacco Data: Advancing tobacco control in 2024

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 From its beginnings in 1999, Mississippi Tobacco Data has tracked significant shifts in the state's tobacco landscape.

Over the past 26 years, notable achievements include the successful implementation of local smoke-free ordinances, decreased per capita cigarette consumption, and reduced overall prevalence of cigarette smoking. These outcomes highlight the substantial progress in advancing Mississippi's tobacco control efforts.

Notably, 190 smoke-free municipalities represent 37% of the state's population. This analysis of primary and secondary data reveals significant declines in key indicators: per capita cigarette consumption, adult smoking rates, and youth use of cigarettes, cigars, and smokeless tobacco.

It’s not all good news, though; researchers have seen an alarming rise in e-cigarette use among youth. After increases in 2014 and 2018, 2023 data show that 15.7% of high school students and 6.4% of middle school students reported using e-cigarettes in the past 30 days.

The decline in cigarette smoking has been mirrored by a reduction in lung cancer mortality rates, which decreased from 65.3 per 100,000 people in 2008 to 45.5 per 100,000 in 2022. Additionally, Mississippi has made notable strides in lung cancer early detection. In 2023, 12.8% of adults at high risk for lung cancer were screened with annual low-dose CT scans, nearly matching the national rate of 12.9%.

Image of MTD logoThe team’s efforts in 2024 led to several peer-reviewed publications, including the Journal of the Mississippi Medical Association, Journal of Public Health in the Deep South, and Proceedings of the 16th International Conference on Bioinformatics and Computational Biology. Among these, Tobacco Control Youth Initiatives: Mississippi’s Multi-Pronged Approach highlighted the reach of evidence-based programs like CATCH My Breath® and Tar Wars®, which engage tens of thousands of youth annually.

Additionally, in the article Public Support for Tobacco Control Policies Among Mississippi Adults they showed strong support for five key policies around tobacco laws, taxes, and advertising designed to reduce the health and economic burden of tobacco use, with consistent backing across political lines. Lastly, the article TRAPS (Tobacco Reporting and Progress System) - A Visual Analytics System for Public Health Surveillance, published through the Proceedings of the 16th International Conference on Bioinformatics and Computational Biology, emphasized the growing need for visual analytic frameworks to support public health professionals in managing and evaluating tobacco control efforts.

In March, three team members presented the TRAPS system at the Showcasing and Synthesizing Our Progress: CDC-RFA-DP202001 Awardee Meeting, hosted by the CDC’s Office on Smoking and Health. This event brought together tobacco control professionals nationwide, along with Puerto Rico and Guam, to share program innovations, track progress, and foster collaboration across national and state tobacco control efforts. The presentation in the Increasing Program Capacity Through Data Dashboards session generated significant interest, with several state tobacco control programs expressing enthusiasm about implementing similar data dashboard solutions.

At the 93rd Annual Conference of the Mississippi Municipal League in June, the team continued our outreach and dissemination efforts by hosting an exhibitor booth. They provided information highlighting the positive health and economic impacts of smoke-free ordinances in Mississippi municipalities. The booth featured a prominent banner with the question, “Are You on the Map?” alongside a map showcasing the 190 smoke-free municipalities across the state. We also gave smoke-free nametag ribbons to elected representatives of these municipalities.

In September, researchers presented Reducing the Burden of Tobacco in Mississippi Over the Past 25 Years at the 9th Annual Advancing Mississippi Conference, hosted by the Mississippi Institutions of Higher Learning. During the session, the team discussed the significant health and economic impact of tobacco use in Mississippi, the state and local tobacco control efforts aimed at reducing this burden, and the notable successes achieved over the past two and half decades.

Throughout 2024, Mississippi Tobacco Data continued its crucial role in monitoring tobacco use and policy across the state in partnership with the Mississippi State Department of Health’s Office of Tobacco Control. Our ongoing surveillance and evaluation efforts highlight significant progress in protecting residents from the dangers of tobacco.