Their results are published in the journal Preventive Medicine. Currently, the vast majority of states are not spending nearly enough money to do a good job, DiFranza noted. It is also difficult to know exactly how much money, if any, a particular state is spending on tobacco enforcement because it is combined with alcohol enforcement. In the study, the researchers calculated several variables including the number of retailers that sell tobacco products, the cost of enforcement, smoking rates among minors and years of potential life saved. All these factors helped build a mathematical model.
Some states plan to use the money to help pay for health issues related to smoking.
By spending the money in a cost-effective manner on enforcement, millions of lives could be saved. The potential is also great for states to save on future healthcare costs due to smoking-related illness including lung cancer, according to DiFranza. A tax of about one-cent per pack of cigarettes would fully fund the most expensive enforcement program considered in the study, DiFranza noted. The legal age to buy cigarettes is 18 in the majority of states. The federal government requires that all states enforce their laws pertaining to the illegal sale of tobacco products to minors in order to qualify for full federal funding for substance abuse programs.