Fewer Americans are buying cigarettes, according to the National Association of Attorneys General (NAAG) Tobacco Committee.
The group cites figures compiled by the Tobacco Tax Bureau of the United States Department of the Treasury showing cigarette sales in 2005 declined by 4.2 percent from 2004 levels, marking the largest one-year percentage decrease in cigarette sales since 1999.
More important, the group says the 2005 sales figures continue the unprecedented long-term decline in cigarette smoking that began with the settlement of lawsuits brought by state attorneys general against the major tobacco companies.
Cigarette sales in the United States have fallen by more than 21 percent since the state Attorneys General negotiated the landmark 1998 tobacco Master Settlement Agreement (MSA), which imposed public health restrictions on the advertising, promotion and marketing of cigarettes by tobacco companies.
The 378 billion cigarettes sold in the United States in 2005 represented the lowest number of cigarettes sold in the United States since 1951. This decline is even more impressive, the attorneys general say, because the United States population has more than doubled since that time.
"The work of the Attorneys General in negotiating the tobacco MSA focused attention on the conduct of the tobacco companies and the dangers of cigarette smoking," said Iowa Attorney General Tom Miller, co-chairman of the National Association of Attorneys General Tobacco Committee.
"The continued enforcement efforts of the MSA's provisions by Attorneys General, along with other health advocates, have made a marked difference in the number of smokers across the country, particularly among youth."
The law enforcement officials say the continuing long-term decline shows that they are winning the battle against cigarette smoking and that the MSA and the other tobacco state settlement agreements have made a difference. The decline in 2005 was one of the largest single-year declines in history and is evidence that the long-term downward trend is continuing.
The decline in cigarette sales and overall smoking prevalence is a huge public health success, the Attorneys General said. In the years immediately prior to the states' settlement agreements with the tobacco companies, cigarette sales in the United States had reached a plateau. By contrast, the eight-year decline in cigarette sales of 21.1 percent since the MSA is unprecedented.
The MSA created a broad array of restrictions on the advertising, marketing and promotion of cigarettes.
For example, it prohibited the targeting of youth in cigarette advertising. It also prohibited outdoor advertising of cigarettes and the advertising of cigarettes in public transit facilities, as well as the use of cigarette brand names on merchandise, and a host of other restrictions.
The payment provisions of the MSA were designed to compensate the states in part for the billions dollars in health care costs associated with treating tobacco-related diseases under state Medicaid programs.
Tobacco is the number one cause of preventable death in the United States. As advocates for the public interest, Attorneys General across the country say they are actively working to enforce the provisions of the MSA to reduce tobacco use and protect consumers from its deadly toll.
"The States have been accused of becoming addicted to tobacco settlement money and wanting to keep cigarette sales high in order to maximize their revenues," Miller said, "but nothing could be farther from the truth. In fact, the costs imposed on the States to treat cigarette-related diseases far exceed the revenues the States get from the settlement proceeds and taxes. The States applaud the decline in cigarette sales and have worked hard and effectively to bring this result about."
Attorneys General have also directly addressed the issue of youth tobacco use aggressively enforcing the settlement agreements against violations by the tobacco companies -- such as Brown & Williamson's "Kool Mixx" marketing campaign that sought to use hip-hop culture to promote cigarettes; pursuing agreements with major retailers to ensure that they do not sell tobacco products to underage persons; and suing Internet tobacco vendors who sell tobacco products without verifying the age of their purchasers.
Recently, the State of Vermont sued Reynolds American Tobacco Company, alleging that advertising of its Eclipse brand was making health claims that could not be substantiated. That suit is pending.
