Philadelphia smoking rates hit new low

Smoking rates in Philadelphia have dropped to all-time lows, reflecting the effects of a comprehensive tobacco-control campaign, city health officials said Monday.

Seven years ago, when rates began steadily falling, 27.3 percent of adults smoked; now, 22.4 percent do. During this period, youth smoking fell from 10.7 to 7.5 percent.

Smoking decreased among all racial, ethnic, and socio-economic groups, according to the data, from a regional survey by the nonprofit Public Health Management Corp. and the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The figures are only for conventional cigarettes, not other tobacco products or e-cigarettes.

Philadelphia is still the leading puffer among the nation's 10 big cities - in New York, for example, just 16 percent of people over 18 smoke - but the gap is closing, said Giridhar Mallya, director of policy and planning for the Philadelphia Department of Public Health.

"We are the poorest of the 10 largest cities, and rates of poverty track closely with rates of smoking," Mallya said. "There's a lot more that we need to do, but at the same time, the progress we've made has been substantial."

As Mayor Nutter put it, "We're turning the tide against tobacco."

A range of antismoking measures has driven the trend, city and public health officials agreed:

In 2008, the city's Clean Indoor Air Worker Protection Law required restaurants, bars, and workplaces to go smoke-free.

In 2010, Get Healthy Philly, a health department initiative, launched an aggressive mass media campaign. It also began providing nicotine patches free to Philadelphians who called the state Quitline (1-800-QUIT-NOW, 784-8669) for cessation counseling.

Since 2012, the Philadelphia Housing Authority has offered stop-smoking classes to employees and public housing residents, and introduced smoke-free housing units.

Community Behavioral Health, the nonprofit agency that provides mental-health and substance-abuse services for city Medicaid residents, has added smoking cessation to its treatment programs. In addition, the health department has asked the 20 facilities that provide inpatient mental-health treatment to go smoke-free on their campuses, including porches, patios, and outdoor areas. Of all the groups highlighted in the report, adults with mental-health problems have the highest smoking rates.

Philadelphia's $2-per-pack cigarette tax took effect last October. Over the next three months, calls to the Quitline from Philadelphians doubled, an early sign of the impact of the levy.

Some other big cities and states have imposed even more punitive taxes, noted Diane Phillips of the American Cancer Society's Cancer Action Network. When per-pack city and state taxes are tallied, Chicagoans pay $6.16, New Yorkers $5.85, and Philadelphians $3.60.

Still, she said, "the Public Health Department has been doing a great job with a sustained, varied effort, because it's never just one thing. It takes taxes, cessation programs, and strategies to discourage youth" smoking.

Philadelphia's youth rates are relatively low, and white youths light up more than African Americans, federal data show. (The 2013 rate was 15.3 percent for white teens, 5.5 percent for black teens.)

But the rates rise quickly - and racial patterns flip - as young adults begin earning money, said Mallya of the health department. In 2014, 25.8 percent of African Americans smoked, as did 31.8 percent of low-income residents and 33.5 percent of those with mental-health problems.

Kenneth B. Margulies, a heart failure specialist at the University of Pennsylvania, believes the city's rates will continue to decline with evolving attitudes, policies, and penalties.

"I see a lot of the impact of smoking, including when people are facing a mortal risk to their health," he said. "A smoker who needs a heart transplant can't get one without quitting. So they find a way to quit."

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