Document Type

Master's Culminating Experience

Publication Date

2008

Abstract

Objective: The Ohio smoking ban was passed by Ohio voters on November 7, 2006 and took effect on December 7, 2006. The reporting of violations to the Ohio smoking ban began on May 3, 2007 with the implementation of the civil penalties for the violations. The purpose of this study is to look at emerging trends in cigarette sales change from 2006 to 2007 for the 88 counties in Ohio following implementation of the smoking ban on December 7, 2006 based on geographical location, violation level, and tobacco production.

Methods: Data was obtained from Claritas for the 2006 aggregate expenditure estimate on cigarettes and the 2007 aggregate expenditure estimate on cigarettes (Claritas, 2008). This data was used to calculate cigarette sales change and cigarette percent sales change for the state of Ohio. The independent variables used were county regional distinction, tobacco production, and smoking ban violation level per 1000 population. For each of these variables an analysis of descriptive statistics was used to look at cigarette percent sales change. The descriptive statistics included mean, median, standard deviation, range, minimum, and maximum.

Results: Overall for the state of Ohio there was a decrease in the aggregate expenditure estimate on cigarettes from 2006 to 2007. The cigarette percent sales change for Ohio was -1.9%. The cigarette percent sales change for all regional distinctions decreased; Appalachian counties by -2.1%, rural non-Appalachian counties by -1.7%, metropolitan counties by -2.0%, and suburban counties by -1.1%. The cigarette percent sales change decreased for both violation distinctions; high violation counties by -1.9% and low violation counties by -1.7%. The cigarette percent sales change also decreased for all tobacco producing distinctions; -1.6% for high tobacco producing counties, -1.9% for low tobacco producing counties, and -1.7% for non-tobacco producing counties.

Conclusion: Although the results can not draw concrete connections between cigarette sales change and the smoking ban this study does provide some insight into what has occurred in Ohio with cigarette sales since the implementation of the smoking ban and enforcement of violations. Cigarette sales in Ohio decreased in 95.45% of Ohio counties (84 of 88) ranging from 1.6% change to -5.2% change. Cigarette sales for the state of Ohio as a whole decreased from 2006 to 2007 by a total of $83,002,044 which is a -1.9% mean percentage cigarette sales change. This decrease in cigarette sales change provides support for the implementation of the smoking ban in Ohio and the positive impact it has had on the Ohio population in relation to a decrease in cigarette sales and. This study also shows the areas in Ohio which efforts can be focused to increase awareness of the negative effects of smoking and secondhand smoke along with the hope of increasing cessation rates and/or decreasing cigarette consumption in these areas to comparable levels of the other regions in Ohio.

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