State Highlights

 

Alabama

Monitor

In Alabama, 22.1% of the adult population (ages 18+)—over 783,000 individuals—are current cigarette smokers. Across all states, the prevalence of cigarette smoking among adults ranges from 9.3% to 26.5%. Alabama ranks 42nd among the states.

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Among youth aged 12–17, 12.0% smoke in Alabama. The range across all states is 6.5% to 15.9%. Alabama ranks 40th among the states.

Among adults aged 35+ years, over 7,600 died as a result of tobacco use per year, on average, during 2000–2004. This represents a smoking-attributable mortality rate of 317.5 per 100,000. Alabama's smoking-attributable mortality rate ranks 44th among the states.

Protect

Alabama does not have a statewide smoke-free law that provides adequate protection against exposure to secondhand smoke in public places.

Among adults who work indoors, the percentage who reported anyone smoking in their work area within the preceding 2 weeks has remained higher in Alabama than in the nation overall. Currently, Alabama ranks 39th among the states for workplace exposure, at 8.8%.

Offer

Best Practices estimates 8% of smokers could access quitlines each year. In Alabama, 1.8% of current smokers who made a quit attempt in the past year called a quitline.

The Medicaid fee-for-service program in Alabama covered none of the tobacco dependence treatments recommended by the U.S. Public Health Service's Clinical Practice Guideline.

Warn

Smoke-free home rules represent awareness of the dangers of secondhand smoke. In Alabama, as in the nation, an increasing number of families have such a rule.

Currently, 73.8% of Alabama homes have this rule. Alabama ranks 34th among the states.

Rating point data were available for 42 states and the District of Columbia. Best Practices recommendations translate into an average of 800 targeted rating points (TRPs) in effective youth and 1,200 gross rating points (GRPs) in effective general audience antitobacco media campaigns per quarter. Alabama's major media market(s) aired an average of 0 youth TRPs and 0 general audience GRPs per quarter in 2008. Alabama ties for last for the number of youth TRPs and for the number of general audience GRPs aired.

Enforce

Alabama allows local regulation of tobacco industry promotions, sampling and display of tobacco products in commercial establishments.

Alabama requires all establishments selling tobacco products over the counter and by vending machine to be licensed. Currently, 38 states require licensure for both over the counter and vending machine sales.

Raise

Alabama maintains a $0.425 per pack tax, ranking 46th among the states.

Alabama does not have a minimum price law.

Approximately 23% of the annual revenue generated from state excise taxes and settlement payments would fund Alabama's tobacco control program at the Best Practices recommended amount. However, in 2007, Alabama's funding for tobacco control was 3.7% of the recommended level. Alabama ranks 44th among the states.