Anti-Tobacco Campaigns

In November 1996, TOFCO advocated and Oregon voters passed Ballot Measure 44, which increased the tax on a pack of cigarettes by $0.30 to $0.68. The ballot measure dedicated 10 percent of the new revenue to the Department of Human Services “…for funding of prevention and education programs designed to reduce cigarette and tobacco use.” Thus, the Tobacco Prevention and Education Program (TPEP) was created.

Below is a summary of changes that have occurred in Oregon since 1996, the last full year before the Ballot Measure 44 tax increase and implementation of the Tobacco Prevention and Education Program.

Changes in Oregon tobacco consumption 1996 to 2008:

• Per capita cigarette consumption decreased 46 percent.

Changes in Oregon tobacco use from 1996 to 2008

• The percentage of adults who smoke decreased by 28 percent, from 23.7 percent in 1996 to 17.0 percent in 2007.
• Smoking has decline 58 percent among Oregon’s 8th graders, from 21.6 percent to 9.0 percent, and 42 percent among Oregon’s 11th graders, from 27.6 percent to 16.1 percent.

TOFCO supported the creation of TPEP and continues to support and advocate for the stable funding of a comprehensive tobacco education and prevention program. The CDC recommends that Oregon spend $43 million a year to have an effective, comprehensive tobacco-prevention program. Oregon’s TPEP is currently receives $7.7 million a year for tobacco prevention and cessation, which includes both state and federal money.

• The Movement HOME

State Tobacco Campaign

• Anti-Tobacco Campaigns
• Tobacco Prevention and Education Program
• TOFCO Agenda

National Tobacco Campaign

• Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids
• FDA Laws
• The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention

Burning Issues

• Grassroots Network
• Hookah Lounges
• Tobacco Discriminates