A recent study found that Californians would accept no less than a $15,728 cash incentive to quit smoking cigarettes.
Oklahoma Smokes, a tobacco alternative company, surveyed 3,595 smokers to gauge how much it would take for cigarette smokers to quit, finding the national average at $9,080. The study found that California smokers reported a cash incentive of no less than $15,728 on average from a federal program to quit smoking cigarettes.
Smokers in Hawaii reported the highest average cash incentive at $16,500.
The study was inspired by State Bill 110 authored by Sen.Scott Wiener which was proposed last year to create a contingency management plan that pays people to stay sober in the form of cash incentives or payments for every negative drug test over a certain period.
The survey also found that 14 percent of California smokers admit they feel ostracized by society for their habit. Nationally, this figure was 18 percent among women smokers and 16 percent among men.
Smokers between the ages of 45 and 54 reported they felt the most ostracized by society for their tobacco habit.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) estimated in 2020 that 30.8 million of U.S. adults currently smoke cigarettes. Cigarette smoking remains the leading cause of preventable disease and death in the United States. Cigarette smoking kills more than 480,000 Americans each year.
The United States spends more than $300 billion a year on smoking-related illnesses, including more than $225 billion in direct medical care for adults and $156 billion in lost productivity.
Findings from a CDC Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report show nearly 1 in 5 adults, an estimated 47.1 million, reported current—every day or some days—tobacco product use in 2020. Although the percentage of adults who smoked cigarettes declined—from 14.0 percent in 2019 to 12.5 percent in 2020— nearly 31 million U.S. adults reported smoking cigarettes in 2020.
“We have made significant progress in preventing and reducing tobacco product use in this country by using proven strategies and implementing effective policies,” said Karen Hacker, MD, MPH, Director of CDC’s National Center for Chronic Disease Prevention and Health Promotion. “Despite significant declines in adult tobacco use, our work is far from over. We must continue to address tobacco-related health disparities and inequities to ensure everyone has the opportunity to be as healthy as possible.”
The U.S. Congress hasn’t enacted nationwide federal smoking bans in workplaces or public places. However, the state of Nevada has banned smoking in all public spaces and places of employment, except casinos, bars, strip clubs, retail tobacco stores, and restaurants that don’t allow patrons under the age of 21. In other restaurants, smoking is limited to ventilated designated areas.
According to Tobacco Free CA, there are nearly 70 cancer-causing chemicals in secondhand smoke from cigarettes. The U.S. Surgeon General continues to warn the public that there is no safe level of exposure to secondhand smoke, as it kills tens of thousands of Americans each year.
