New findings from research investigating New York City’s recent and much publicized efforts to reduce tobacco use among its residents found an 11 percent reduction in smoking prevalence from 2002 to 2003 (21.6 percent to 19.2 percent). In the June 2005 issue of the American Journal of Public Health, Frieden et. al detail the strategies used by New York City which resulted in approximately 140,000 fewer smokers. About one-third of smokers die prematurely from smoking-related causes, so this 11 percent reduction will result in approximately 45,000 fewer premature deaths due to smoking.

New York City leaders utilized policy, treatment and education strategies. Policy strategies included increasing the city’s cigarette tax from $0.08 to $1.50 a pack. The city also enacted the Smoke-Free Air Act of 2002, which made almost all workplaces, including bars and restaurants, smoke free. Treatment strategies included the mailing of cessation guidelines to all physicians and a nicotine-patch distribution program coupled with brief telephone counseling for 34,000 heavy smokers. Expanded educational efforts in the form of publications and mass media advertisements focused on the risk of environmental tobacco smoke and the benefits of quitting smoking.

The Smoke-Free Air Act received heavy media coverage due to its potential negative impact on the restaurant and bar industry, helping to further inform and educate residents about the negative impact of smoking on public health.

For the years 1993 through 2001, researchers examined New York City residents smoking prevalence data from the annual New York State Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System. Smoking prevalence data for 2002 and 2003 was gathered through a random-digit-dialed telephone community health survey of about 10,000 adult residents. Baruch College survey research unit assisted the New York City Dept. of Health and Hygiene with the survey design and data collection.

The researchers found that smoking decreased among all age groups, race/ethnicities, educational levels, in both genders, among U.S. and foreign-born people, and in all areas of the city. The decrease in prevalence was greater than 11 percent among women (13 percent), especially Hispanic women (20.8 percent) and low-income women (18.1 percent), as well as 18- to 24-year-olds (18.9 percent).