We always hear from our politicians about how spending on social programs is not worth the money spent. Public health education, prenatal health programs, Head Start initiatives, anti-smoking campaigns all cost money. When the time comes to talk about their effectiveness in real money and lives saved or changed, a lot of noise gets thrown around about flushing money down the drain on one side and getting what you pay for on the other.
I found this article on the long term effects of New York City’s youth focused anti-smoking campaign. Here are some numbers from that article. In just 6 years, the initiative reduced teen smoking rates by more than half! The program was multi-faceted and included “a tax increase, the smoke-free workplace law, and TV and subway ads that graphically depict the realities of tobacco-related illnesses.”
Now, the City of New York has a teen smoking rate of just 8.5%, a number well below the national averages for teen smoking. What are the long term effects of this? We all can probably list a few but here is a list I have come up with:
- Reduced costs to treat emphysema and other tobacco related illnesses in these patients 50 years from now.
- A group of children who will someday have children with reduced risk of asthma.
- A population of teens who will have a higher quality of life and a longer total lifespan to enjoy it.
- More pocket money to invest in their futures (and future tax revenue)
I call those a serious long term positive effects. Yet, many states and jurisdictions out there continue to argue about the effectiveness of the programs. They cite the economic costs of limiting smoking in the workplace. “It’ll close all of the bars if no one can smoke in a nightclub,” people would say. I have to say, I live in areas with just such restrictions and not only are the bars still open, but they are expanding.
The fact of the matter remains that despite huge strides in public health over the last 100 years or more (sanitation, vaccination programs, food safety), a serious public safety concern still looms on the horizon. Tobacco use is linked, at least in part, to many of the long term illnesses I see on a regular basis.
COPD (Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Diseases like emphysema or chronic bronchitis)
Stroke
CVD (Cardio-Vascular Diseases like ateriosclerosis and atherosclerosis)
Low Birth Weight
Premature Births
Asthma
Cancer
What are your thoughts on this? Should we spend money on initiatives to try to convince people not to do something that is legal and a personal choice? Comment by clicking the comment link below or email me about this directly here.
