Tobacco Use And Public Health
Federal Efforts to Prevent and Reduce Tobacco Use among Youth Gao ID: GAO-04-41 November 21, 2003Tobacco use is the leading cause of preventable death in the United States. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) reported that, on average, over 440,000 deaths and $76 billion in medical expenditures were attributable to cigarette smoking each year from 1995 through 1999. Reducing tobacco-related deaths and the incidence of disease, along with the associated costs, represents a significant public health challenge for the federal government. Most adults who use tobacco started using it between the ages of 10 and 18. According to a Surgeon General's report, if children and adolescents can be prevented from using tobacco products before they become adults, they are likely to remain tobacco-free for the rest of their lives. GAO was asked to provide information on federal efforts to prevent and reduce youth smoking. Specifically, this report describes (1) federal programs, research, and activities that aim to prevent and reduce tobacco use among youth, (2) the efforts of federal departments and agencies to monitor their programs, and (3) the coordination among federal departments and agencies in efforts to prevent and reduce tobacco use among youth.
Some federal programs, research, and activities that aim to address tobacco use among youth focus only on tobacco while others aim to address tobacco use as part of broader efforts to address unhealthy behaviors such as substance abuse and violence. Two federal programs within the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) focus only on tobacco use. CDC's National Tobacco Control Program (NTCP) focuses on preventing and reducing tobacco use among the general population and explicitly targets youth. The Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration's program to oversee implementation of a provision of federal law, commonly referred as the Synar Amendment, focuses only on tobacco use among youth. The Synar Amendment requires states to enact and enforce laws prohibiting the sale of tobacco products to minors. In addition to these tobacco-focused programs, HHS, and the Departments of Defense (DOD), Justice (DOJ), and Education sponsor programs that include tobacco use as part of broader efforts to address unhealthy behaviors among youth, such as substance abuse and violence. For example, Education's Safe and Drug-Free Schools and Communities program is designed to prevent substance abuse and violence. HHS agencies, such as the National Institutes of Health, conduct research on tobacco use and nicotine addiction among youth and its health effects on youth. HHS agencies and other federal departments also support activities to prevent and reduce tobacco use among youth, such as education and outreach efforts. HHS and its component agencies coordinate tobacco-related efforts with other federal, state, and local government agencies and nongovernmental entities. Federal departments and agencies collect a variety of information to monitor how programs that aim to address tobacco use among youth are being implemented by grantees and the effectiveness of grantee efforts in meeting program goals. The information is collected through various means, including grant applications, progress reports, periodic site visits, and program evaluations. For example, to monitor NTCP, CDC requires states to submit biannual reports on the implementation of state NTCP-supported tobacco control programs. The information that federal departments and agencies collect on these programs is also used to provide training and technical assistance to grantees on topics such as conducting program evaluation. In commenting on a draft of this report, HHS stated that the report was very informative but it did not include programs like Medicaid that are a substantial element of HHS tobacco prevention efforts. Including programs that finance health insurance such as Medicaid, however, was beyond the scope of our review. Also, HHS noted that we did not include information about the challenges other federal agencies face in coordinating tobaccorelated issues but DOD, DOJ, and Education did not describe such challenges. DOD and DOJ had no comments on the report and HHS and Education provided technical comments that we incorporated as appropriate.
GAO-04-41, Tobacco Use And Public Health: Federal Efforts to Prevent and Reduce Tobacco Use among Youth
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Report to the Honorable Bill Frist, U.S. Senate:
United States General Accounting Office:
GAO:
November 2003:
Tobacco Use and Public Health:
Federal Efforts to Prevent and Reduce Tobacco Use among Youth:
Preventing and Reducing Tobacco Use among Youth:
GAO-04-41:
GAO Highlights:
Highlights of GAO-04-41, a report to the Honorable Bill Frist, U.S.
Senate
Why GAO Did This Study:
Tobacco use is the leading cause of preventable death in the United
States. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) reported
that, on average, over 440,000 deaths and $76 billion in medical
expenditures were attributable to cigarette smoking each year from
1995 through 1999. Reducing tobacco-related deaths and the incidence
of disease, along with the associated costs, represents a significant
public health challenge for the federal government. Most adults who
use tobacco started using it between the ages of 10 and 18. According
to a Surgeon General‘s report, if children and adolescents can be
prevented from using tobacco products before they become adults, they
are likely to remain tobacco-free for the rest of their lives.
GAO was asked to provide information on federal efforts to prevent
and reduce youth smoking. Specifically, this report describes (1)
federal programs, research, and activities that aim to prevent and
reduce tobacco use among youth, (2) the efforts of federal
departments and agencies to monitor their programs, and (3) the
coordination among federal departments and agencies in efforts to
prevent and reduce tobacco use among youth.
What GAO Found:
Some federal programs, research, and activities that aim to address
tobacco use among youth focus only on tobacco while others aim to
address tobacco use as part of broader efforts to address unhealthy
behaviors such as substance abuse and violence. Two federal programs
within the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) focus only on
tobacco use. CDC‘s National Tobacco Control Program (NTCP) focuses on
preventing and reducing tobacco use among the general population and
explicitly targets youth. The Substance Abuse and Mental Health
Services Administration‘s program to oversee implementation of a
provision of federal law, commonly referred as the Synar Amendment,
focuses only on tobacco use among youth. The Synar Amendment requires
states to enact and enforce laws prohibiting the sale of tobacco
products to minors. In addition to these tobacco-focused programs,
HHS, and the Departments of Defense (DOD), Justice (DOJ), and
Education sponsor programs that include tobacco use as part of
broader efforts to address unhealthy behaviors among youth, such as
substance abuse and violence. For example, Education‘s Safe and Drug-
Free Schools and Communities program is designed to prevent substance
abuse and violence. HHS agencies, such as the National Institutes of
Health, conduct research on tobacco use and nicotine addiction among
youth and its health effects on youth. HHS agencies and other federal
departments also support activities to prevent and reduce tobacco use
among youth, such as education and outreach efforts. HHS and its
component agencies coordinate tobacco-related efforts with other
federal, state, and local government agencies and nongovernmental
entities.
Federal departments and agencies collect a variety of information to
monitor how programs that aim to address tobacco use among youth are
being implemented by grantees and the effectiveness of grantee
efforts in meeting program goals. The information is collected through
various means, including grant applications, progress reports,
periodic site visits, and program evaluations. For example, to
monitor NTCP, CDC requires states to submit biannual reports on the
implementation of state NTCP-supported tobacco control programs. The
information that federal departments and agencies collect on these
programs is also used to provide training and technical assistance to
grantees on topics such as conducting program evaluation.
In commenting on a draft of this report, HHS stated that the report
was very informative but it did not include programs like Medicaid
that are a substantial element of HHS tobacco prevention efforts.
Including programs that finance health insurance such as Medicaid,
however, was beyond the scope of our review. Also, HHS noted that we
did not include information about the challenges other federal
agencies face in coordinating tobacco-related issues but DOD, DOJ,
and Education did not describe such challenges. DOD and DOJ had no
comments on the report and HHS and Education provided technical
comments that we incorporated as appropriate.
www.gao.gov/cgi-bin/getrpt?GAO-04-41.
To view the full product, including the scope and methodology, click
on the link above. For more information, contact Marjorie E. Kanof at
(202) 512-7101.
[End of section]
Contents:
Letter:
Results in Brief:
Background:
Some Federal Programs, Research, and Activities Focus Only on Tobacco
Use, While Others Address Tobacco Use Along with Other Unhealthy
Behaviors:
Federal Departments and Agencies Collect a Variety of Information on
Their Programs That Aim to Prevent Tobacco Use among Youth:
Federal Departments and Agencies Coordinate in Various Ways to Address
Tobacco Use among Youth:
Agency Comments:
Appendix I: Scope and Methodology:
Appendix II: Selected Federal Programs That Address or Can Address
Tobacco Prevention and Reduction among Youth:
Appendix III: Comments from the Department of Health and Human
Services:
Appendix IV: GAO Contact and Acknowledgments:
GAO Contact:
Acknowledgments:
Tables:
Table 1: Examples of Federal Collaborative Education and Outreach
Activities to Address Tobacco Use among Youth:
Table 2: Selected Federal Programs That Address or Can Address Tobacco
Prevention and Reduction among Youth:
Figure:
Figure 1: Estimated Rate of Current Smoking among 8th, 10th, and 12th
Grade Students, 1991-2002:
Abbreviations:
AHRQ: Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality:
CDC: Centers for Disease Control and Prevention:
CMS: Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services:
DEFY: Drug Education for Youth Program:
DOD: Department of Defense:
DOJ: Department of Justice:
EPA: Environmental Protection Agency
HHS: Department of Health and Human Services:
HRSA: Health Resources and Services Administration:
IHS: Indian Health Service:
NCI: National Cancer Institute:
NHLBI: National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute:
NICHD: National Institute of Child Health and Human Development:
NIDCR: National Institute of Dental and Craniofacial Research:
NIDA: National Institute on Drug Abuse:
NIH: National Institutes of Health:
NTCP: National Tobacco Control Program:
ONDCP: Office of National Drug Control Policy:
SAMHSA: Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration:
TTURCs: Transdisciplinary Tobacco Use Research Centers:
United States General Accounting Office:
Washington, DC 20548:
November 21, 2003:
The Honorable Bill Frist:
United States Senate:
Dear Senator Frist:
Tobacco use is the leading cause of preventable death in the United
States. In its most recent estimates of selected health consequences of
cigarette smoking, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC)
reported that, on average, over 440,000 deaths and $76 billion in
medical expenditures were attributable to cigarette smoking each year
from 1995 through 1999.[Footnote 1] Reducing the number of tobacco-
related deaths, along with the associated costs, represents a
significant public health challenge for the federal government. The
first Surgeon General's report to the Congress that specifically
focused on tobacco use among youth concluded that preventing youth from
starting to use tobacco is key to reducing the deaths and incidence of
disease attributable to tobacco use.[Footnote 2] Most adults who use
tobacco started using it between the ages of 10 and 18. According to
the report, if children and adolescents can be encouraged to abstain
from using tobacco before they become adults, they are less likely to
use tobacco for the rest of their lives. Although smoking rates
(defined as smoking one or more cigarettes in the previous 30 days)
among 12th grade students have declined from a rate of about 37 percent
in 1997, in 2002, about 27 percent of 12th grade students reported that
they smoked. In 1992, the Congress passed legislation, commonly
referred to as the Synar Amendment, designed to prohibit the sale and
distribution of tobacco products to minors.[Footnote 3]
Given the harmful effects of tobacco use and the rates of smoking among
youth,[Footnote 4] you asked us to provide information on federal
efforts to prevent and reduce youth smoking. We focused our review on
describing (1) programs, research, and activities that aim to prevent
and reduce tobacco use among youth, (2) the efforts of federal
departments and agencies to monitor their programs, and (3) the
coordination among federal departments and agencies in their efforts to
prevent and reduce tobacco use among youth.
To identify federal programs, research, and activities[Footnote 5] that
aim to address tobacco use among youth, we reviewed the Catalog of
Federal Domestic Assistance, which is a database of federal grant
programs,[Footnote 6] and other pertinent documents. In addition, we
interviewed program officials in multiple federal agencies.[Footnote 7]
As a result, we focused on four federal departments that support
programs and other efforts to prevent and reduce tobacco use among
youth: the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) and its
component agencies--CDC, Substance Abuse and Mental Health and Services
Administration (SAMHSA), National Institutes of Health (NIH), and
Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA); the Department of
Defense (DOD); the Department of Justice (DOJ); and the Department of
Education (Education). Where available, we also obtained fiscal year
2002 funding information on the federal programs and research that we
identified. To identify how federal departments and agencies monitor
their programs, we reviewed agency strategic plans, annual performance
plans and reports, program guidance documents, and program evaluations.
To determine how federal departments and agencies coordinate their
efforts, we reviewed their strategic plans and annual performance plans
and reports and also descriptions of coordination efforts. In addition,
we interviewed agency officials about their program monitoring and
coordination efforts and asked them to describe any coordination
challenges they faced. (For additional information on our methodology,
see app. I.) We conducted our work from January 2003 through October
2003 in accordance with generally accepted government auditing
standards.
Results in Brief:
Some federal programs, research, and activities that address tobacco
use among youth focus only on tobacco use, while others aim to prevent
and reduce tobacco use as part of broader efforts to address unhealthy
behaviors like substance abuse and violence. We identified two federal
programs that focus only on tobacco use. These programs are within HHS,
the lead federal department for addressing public health issues related
to tobacco. The first program, CDC's National Tobacco Control Program
(NTCP), provides funds through cooperative agreements to state tobacco
control programs to prevent and reduce tobacco use among youth and
adults. The second tobacco program, SAMHSA's program to oversee
implementation of the Synar Amendment, is the only federal program we
identified that focuses only on tobacco use among youth. The Synar
Amendment requires states to enact and enforce tobacco control laws to
prevent individuals under the age of 18 from purchasing tobacco
products. In addition to these tobacco-focused programs, HHS,
Education, DOJ, and DOD sponsor programs that aim to address tobacco
use among youth as part of broader efforts to prevent unhealthy
behaviors, such as substance abuse and violence. For example,
Education's Safe and Drug-Free Schools and Communities program supports
state efforts to create learning environments in the nation's schools
that are free of violence and drug use, including tobacco. HHS agencies
also conduct research on tobacco use among youth. For example, NIH
supports research projects to examine the factors influencing both
tobacco use and nicotine addiction among youth and assesses
interventions designed to prevent and help youth quit tobacco use. HHS
agencies and other federal departments also support activities to
prevent and reduce tobacco use among youth, such as education and
outreach efforts.
To monitor their programs that aim to prevent and reduce tobacco use
among youth, federal departments and agencies collect a variety of
information on how their programs are being implemented by grantees and
the effectiveness of grantees' efforts in meeting national program
goals. This information is obtained from such sources as grant
applications, grantee progress reports, periodic site visits, and
program evaluations. In fiscal year 2003, CDC took steps to obtain
additional information on the design, implementation, and effects of
state tobacco control programs. For example, CDC now requires that
states submit more detailed information in their biannual reports and
dedicate staff to evaluate their individual tobacco control programs.
Other federal departments and agencies obtain information on the
efforts and effectiveness of their programs that aim to prevent and
reduce smoking among youth. For example, SAMHSA annually collects
information from states to determine their compliance with the Synar
Amendment and its implementing regulation regarding the sale and
distribution of tobacco products to minors. Similarly, DOJ is
conducting a national evaluation of the Drug-Free Communities Support
program to determine the effects the program is having on preventing
and reducing unhealthy behaviors among youth, such as the use of
tobacco, alcohol, or other drugs.
Federal departments coordinate their efforts to prevent and reduce
tobacco use among youth by participating on various committees and work
groups and collaborating on programs, research, and other activities--
with HHS leading many of these efforts. HHS brings together
representatives from federal, state, and local government agencies and
nongovernmental entities to participate in various interagency
committees and work groups that address tobacco prevention, cessation,
and treatment of nicotine addiction. In addition, HHS and other federal
departments share responsibility for administering programs,
conducting and disseminating information on research, and engaging in
education and outreach activities. Some HHS officials described
challenges to coordination among HHS agencies. Several officials
explained that, although multiple HHS agencies have programs and other
efforts that aim to prevent and reduce tobacco use, coordination can be
challenging because the missions and priorities of these agencies
differ.
We provided a draft of this report to HHS, DOD, DOJ, and Education for
comment. In written comments, HHS stated that the report provides a
thorough and informative overview of the federal effort to prevent and
reduce youth smoking. HHS noted that the report does not include the
Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services programs that are a
substantial element of HHS tobacco prevention, particularly Medicaid.
Including joint federal-state programs that finance health insurance
such Medicaid and the State Children's Health Insurance Program, was
beyond the scope of our review. HHS also noted that the report does not
include information about the challenges federal agencies other than
HHS experienced in coordinating tobacco-related issues. Officials from
DOD, DOJ, and Education did not provide information on challenges they
experienced in coordinating their tobacco-related efforts. DOD
concurred with the report as written and DOJ officials said they had no
comments. HHS and Education provided technical clarifications which we
made, as appropriate.
Background:
From 1991 through 2002, smoking rates among youth fluctuated and
reached their highest points around 1997. The estimated rate of current
smoking among youth (defined as smoking one or more cigarettes during
the previous 30 days) varied according to grade level[Footnote 8] (see
fig.1). For example, the rate among 8th grade students peaked at about
21 percent in 1996 before declining to about 11 percent in 2002. For
10th grade students, the smoking rate peaked at 30 percent in 1996
before declining to 18 percent in 2002. Similarly, smoking among 12th
grade students peaked at about 37 percent in 1997, before declining to
about 27 percent in 2002.
Figure 1: Estimated Rate of Current Smoking among 8th, 10th, and 12th
Grade Students, 1991-2002:
[See PDF for image]
Note: Based on data from the Monitoring the Future survey, 2002.
[End of figure]
HHS serves as the lead federal department for addressing the nation's
public health issues, including tobacco use. HHS is responsible for
informing the public of the dangers of tobacco use and coordinating
federal efforts to address tobacco use issues. Within HHS, CDC's Office
on Smoking and Health has been delegated the lead for all policy and
programmatic issues related to the prevention and reduction of tobacco
use and has primary responsibility within the federal government for
tobacco use prevention efforts.[Footnote 9] Also within HHS, the
Surgeon General serves as the nation's spokesperson on matters of
public health and reports on issues such as the health effects of
tobacco use. Other HHS agencies, such as SAMHSA, NIH, and HRSA, support
efforts to prevent and reduce tobacco use. Education, DOD, and DOJ also
support programs and activities that aim to address tobacco use among
youth.
Several studies have highlighted the importance of addressing tobacco
use among youth. In 1994, the Surgeon General released a report that
focused on the use of tobacco among youth. The report highlighted
several factors that increase the likelihood that youth will begin
using tobacco. These factors include engaging in other unhealthy
behaviors, like substance abuse and violence; peer pressure to smoke;
and cigarette advertising and promotion. In addition, the Surgeon
General, CDC, NIH, and the Institute of Medicine have reported on
approaches that can help prevent youth from starting to use tobacco and
help existing users quit. For instance, they have reported on the
demonstrated benefits of interventions such as implementing counter-
marketing campaigns, using school-based educational programs in
combination with providing youth with alternatives to the illicit use
of tobacco, deglamorizing tobacco use, and restricting minors' access
to tobacco. According to the Surgeon General's 1994 report, strategies
for preventing and reducing tobacco use among youth should be
multifaceted and involve collaborations among those that can influence
the behavior and attitudes of youth, such as family members and
educators.
HHS led federal, state, and local agencies and nongovernmental
organizations in developing a 10-year national plan, the Healthy People
2010 initiative, that includes goals for addressing tobacco use. The
Healthy People 2010 initiative has identified tobacco use as one of 10
leading health indicators for the nation.[Footnote 10] Healthy People
2010 objectives related to tobacco use among youth include, among other
objectives, reducing the percentage of adolescents who smoked
cigarettes in the past month and increasing the percentage of
adolescents who try to quit smoking.
Some Federal Programs, Research, and Activities Focus Only on Tobacco
Use, While Others Address Tobacco Use Along with Other Unhealthy
Behaviors:
Two HHS agencies, CDC and SAMHSA, administer programs that focus only
on tobacco use. CDC's NTCP targets youth within a broader mission of
preventing and reducing tobacco use among the general population.
SAMHSA oversees implementation of the Synar Amendment that requires
states to enact and enforce tobacco control laws prohibiting the sale
of tobacco products to minors. Other programs and activities
administered by HHS, DOD, DOJ, Education, and the Office of National
Drug Control Policy (ONDCP) address tobacco use as part of a broader
focus on unhealthy behaviors, such as substance abuse and violence.
(See app. II for examples of federal programs that can address tobacco
prevention and reduction among youth.):
Some Federal Programs Only Address Tobacco Use:
We identified two federal programs that focus only on tobacco use. The
first, CDC's NTCP,[Footnote 11] focuses on preventing and reducing
tobacco use among the general population, but it also explicitly
targets tobacco use among youth. NTCP provides funds through
cooperative agreements to all states.[Footnote 12] In fiscal year 2002,
NTCP provided about $58 million to states to address NTCP's four
goals.[Footnote 13] NTCP's four goals are to (1) prevent youth from
starting to smoke, (2) help youth and adults quit smoking, (3) minimize
the public's exposure to secondhand smoke, and (4) identify and
mitigate the factors that make some populations more likely to use
tobacco than others. NTCP cooperative agreements specify the terms
under which federal funds are provided to the states.
Under NTCP, CDC encourages states to use multiple types of
interventions in their efforts to prevent and reduce tobacco use. CDC
has developed guidance intended to assist states in designing,
implementing, and evaluating their individual tobacco control
programs.[Footnote 14] For instance, CDC recommends that states
establish comprehensive tobacco control programs that include certain
components, such as:
* community-based programs to reduce tobacco use that include a wide
range of prevention activities, such as engaging youth in developing
and implementing tobacco control interventions, conducting educational
programs for young people, parents, school personnel, and others, and
restricting access to tobacco products;
* school programs to implement school health policies that consist of
tobacco-free policies, evidence-based curricula, teacher training,
parental involvement, cessation services, and links between school and
other community efforts and state media and educational campaigns;
* marketing campaigns to counter protobacco influences and increase
prohealth messages and influences, including paid television, radio,
billboard, and print media campaigns;
* cessation services to help people quit smoking;
* enforcement of tobacco control policies by restricting minors' access
to tobacco and restricting smoking in public places; and:
* statewide efforts to provide localities with technical assistance on
how to evaluate tobacco programs, promote media advocacy, implement
smoke-free policies, and reduce minors' access to tobacco.
CDC officials told us that CDC also provides training and technical
assistance to states in designing, implementing, and evaluating their
tobacco control programs. For example, in fiscal year 2000, CDC
conducted three regional workshops for state health departments and
education agencies aimed at helping such agencies develop coordinated
plans to prevent youth from starting to use tobacco. According to CDC,
representatives from 33 states participated in these workshops.
The second federal program that focuses only on tobacco and aims to
prevent tobacco use among youth is SAMHSA's program to oversee state
implementation of legislation commonly referred to as the Synar
Amendment. This program is the only one we identified that focuses
solely on tobacco use among youth. The Synar Amendment and its
implementing regulation require states to enact and enforce laws that
prohibit the sale of tobacco products to minors, conduct random
inspections of tobacco retail or distribution outlets and estimate the
percentage of retailers that illegally sell tobacco to minors, and
report the results of their efforts to the Secretary of HHS.[Footnote
15] States are also required to report enforcement actions taken
against those who violate state laws in order to receive certain
federal grants.[Footnote 16] By the end of fiscal year 2003, states may
have no more than 20 percent of retail tobacco outlets in violation of
state laws that prohibit the sale of tobacco products to minors. To
oversee states' efforts to accomplish this, SAMHSA and the states
negotiated interim annual target rates that states should meet. States
may use a portion of their Substance Abuse Prevention and Treatment
block grant to help fund the design and implementation of their
inspection programs. For fiscal year 2002, the states reported that
they planned to expend more than $5.4 million in block grant funds on
Synar-related activities.
Other Federal Programs Address Tobacco Use Along with Other Unhealthy
Behaviors:
Other federal programs aim to address tobacco use among youth as part
of a broader focus on unhealthy behaviors. For example, CDC's
Coordinated School Health program provides grants to states to
implement school health programs to prevent a range of unhealthy
behaviors or conditions, such as drug, alcohol, and tobacco use;
physical inactivity; poor nutrition, and obesity. In fiscal year 2002,
CDC awarded grants to 22 states, with each state receiving
approximately $400,000. CDC helps state education and health
departments identify and implement health education curricula to
provide youth with information and the decision-making, communication,
and peer-resistance skills needed to avoid unhealthy behaviors. In
addition, CDC provides guidance to state and local health education
agencies on tobacco prevention programs in schools that covers
policies, programs, and a tobacco-free environment. CDC periodically
surveys the states, school districts, and schools on the health
curricula they offer and on school health policies relating to tobacco
prevention and reduction efforts. According to CDC, the information
obtained through these survey efforts is used to assess trends in
school health education programs.
Education's Safe and Drug-Free Schools and Communities program aims to
prevent violence and drug, alcohol, and tobacco use in the nation's
schools.[Footnote 17] Under this program in fiscal year 2002, Education
awarded more than $472 million in grants to state education departments
and governors' offices.[Footnote 18] Similarly, the Safe Schools/
Healthy Students program, which is funded by Education, HHS, and DOJ,
provides local education agencies with grants that support a variety of
services designed to promote healthy childhood development and prevent
substance abuse (which can include the use of tobacco) and violence.
These services target preschoolers, school-aged children, and
adolescents. The Safe Schools/Healthy Students program's activities
totaled about $172 million for fiscal year 2002.
DOJ and DOD support drug prevention programs that also aim to prevent
tobacco use among youth. For example, the Drug-Free Communities Support
program,[Footnote 19] which is administered by ONDCP and DOJ, is
designed to support the efforts of community coalitions that aim to
prevent and reduce young people's use of drugs, alcohol, and tobacco.
These coalitions consist of youth, parents, health care professionals,
educators, law enforcement officials, and other community partners. In
fiscal year 2002, DOJ awarded about $46 million to community coalitions
located in 50 states. Approximately $7 million was given in new awards
to 70 community coalitions, and $39 million was given in renewed
funding to 462 existing community coalitions. Another program, the Drug
Education for Youth program (DEFY), which is sponsored by DOD and DOJ,
targets youth aged 9 to 12 to improve awareness of the harmful effects
of alcohol and other drugs, including tobacco. According to agency
officials, the program aims to promote positive self-images and
lifestyles. In fiscal year 2002, DOD funding totaled over $1 million
for 55 local DEFY programs. DOJ provided approximately $850,000 in
funding to implement 111 local DEFY programs.
HHS Agencies Support Research to Address Tobacco Use among Youth:
In addition to supporting programs that aim to address tobacco use
among youth, HHS agencies conduct research on tobacco use and its
health effects. NIH's National Cancer Institute (NCI) has identified
tobacco use among youth as one of its research priorities.[Footnote 20]
In fiscal year 2002, NCI funded more than 40 grants, totaling almost
$30 million, for research on ways to understand, prevent, reduce, and
treat tobacco use among youth. Similarly, NIH's National Institute on
Drug Abuse (NIDA) supports research on effective tobacco use prevention
and reduction interventions for youth. For example, NIDA established
and funds a teen tobacco addiction treatment research center to examine
methods of eliminating dependence on nicotine and assess the
effectiveness of these strategies. The center is assessing the safe use
and effectiveness of nicotine patches and gum for adolescents.
According to NIDA, in fiscal year 2002, funding for its research
projects that focused on substance abuse, including tobacco use among
youth, totaled about $124 million.
In fiscal year 1999, NCI and NIDA jointly established seven
Transdisciplinary Tobacco Use Research Centers (TTURCs) at academic
institutions in an effort to identify effective ways to prevent and
reduce tobacco use.[Footnote 21] According to HHS officials, additional
information on ways to reduce tobacco use among youth is needed because
of the limited knowledge available about cessation interventions that
work best for young people. The 5-year TTURCs research effort is
designed to study new ways of preventing tobacco use and nicotine
addiction. According to HHS officials, in fiscal year 2002, NCI and
NIDA provided over $15 million to TTURCs, which included funding for
research on youth and adolescent tobacco use and nicotine addiction at
four of the seven centers. These four centers are conducting studies on
adolescent smoking.[Footnote 22] According to NCI, one study found that
students with high academic performance, perceived academic competence,
and involvement in school-related clubs and sports teams were less
likely to smoke.[Footnote 23]
CDC also supports research on health promotion and disease prevention
including research on tobacco use among youth, through its network of
28 research centers that are affiliated with schools of public health,
medicine, or osteopathy located throughout the country. According to
CDC officials, these research centers focus on identifying effective
prevention strategies that can be applied at the community level. One
center is examining factors that can influence youth and young adults
to start using tobacco and two other centers are conducting research
that examines youth cessation programs, according to CDC. HRSA is
working with certain federally supported community health centers on a
multiyear initiative to address health disparities among youth. HRSA
officials said that the effort would involve developing interventions
to address the needs of high-risk medical subpopulations, such as young
people with asthma or cardiovascular conditions for whom tobacco use
can pose especially high risks.
Federal Activities Also Aim to Address Tobacco Use among Youth:
In addition to research, HHS and other federal departments conduct a
variety of tobacco-focused activities that aim to prevent and reduce
tobacco use among youth. For example, officials from HHS, Education,
and other federal departments, along with experts from national
organizations and professional associations, developed guidance to help
schools identify and implement strategies for preventing tobacco use
among youth.[Footnote 24] For example, the guidelines recommend that
schools develop and enforce a school policy on tobacco use, provide
tobacco-use prevention education from kindergarten through 12th grade,
provide instructions about the short-and long-term consequences of
tobacco use, and provide training for teachers. Similarly, in 1997,
SAMHSA issued guidance that describes strategies that communities can
use to prevent and reduce tobacco use among youth.[Footnote 25]
In other activities, HHS agencies develop and promote educational
materials to prevent and reduce a range of unhealthy behaviors among
adolescents, including tobacco use. For example, Girl Power!, a
national public education campaign, is designed to prevent 9-to 13-
year-old girls from using tobacco, alcohol, and illegal drugs and
includes a Web site that offers articles, games, and quizzes that teach
girls about the dangers of tobacco use. Similarly, CDC's Tobacco
Information and Prevention Source Web site offers a variety of
educational materials for youth, such as tips on how to quit using
tobacco and information on the health consequences of using tobacco.
CDC also disseminates information for parents, such as a kit that
offers advice on ways to increase parental involvement in their
children's lives and incorporate tobacco prevention messages into daily
activities. In addition, DOD sponsors Web sites that include
information on preventing and reducing tobacco use among youth and
supports various youth activities that address unhealthy behaviors,
including tobacco use. For example, one project identified was Smart
Moves,[Footnote 26] which aims to prevent tobacco, alcohol, and drug
use by bolstering youths' self-esteem and their resistance to unhealthy
behaviors.
HHS agencies also support activities that use various media, such as
print, radio, television, and videotapes, to counteract the impact of
tobacco product marketing. For example, CDC supports a variety of
entertainment-related outreach activities that enlist celebrities as
spokespersons to deliver antismoking messages and to increase prohealth
messages in entertainment programming. CDC also supports the Media
Campaign Resource Center, a clearinghouse offering antitobacco media
products developed for television, radio, print, and outdoor
advertising. In addition, CDC and SAMHSA developed Media Sharp, a media
literacy guide for educators and community leaders who work with middle
school and high school age youth to dissuade youth from using tobacco.
Federal Departments and Agencies Collect a Variety of Information on
Their Programs That Aim to Prevent Tobacco Use among Youth:
To monitor federal programs that aim to prevent and reduce tobacco use
among youth, federal departments and agencies collect information on
how their programs are being implemented by grantees and the
effectiveness of grantees' efforts in meeting national program goals.
Federal departments and agencies obtain this information from various
sources, such as grantee applications for federal funding, progress
reports, site visits, and program evaluations. According to federal
officials, the information is used to assist grantees in managing and
evaluating their programs.
CDC Collects Information on the States' NTCP-Supported Tobacco Control
Programs:
To monitor the NTCP, CDC collects information on the design,
implementation, and effectiveness of state tobacco control programs.
CDC obtains this information through various sources, such as states'
applications for NTCP funding, state progress reports, periodic site
visits, surveys, and program evaluations conducted by various states.
For instance, the applications that states submit when applying for
NTCP funding must include strategic plans that provide information on
the design and implementation of their tobacco control programs. The
plans must also include information on how states will achieve NTCP's
goals. According to CDC officials, other important sources of
information are the biannual reports that the agency requires states to
submit on the progress of their tobacco control programs. These reports
provide CDC with additional information, such as enforcement strategies
used to prevent the sale of tobacco products to minors, information
campaigns to increase the public's awareness of the health consequences
of using tobacco, and efforts to promote tobacco-free schools and
positive role models for youth.
CDC also obtains information on state tobacco control programs through
other sources. For example, CDC officials said that NTCP project
officers, who are responsible for monitoring state tobacco control
programs, visit each of their assigned states approximately every 12 to
18 months. CDC officials said that through these visits they obtain
more in-depth information about the design and implementation of the
states' programs, and they gain a better understanding of the
challenges that states may face in achieving NTCP's goals. In addition,
these officials said that they monitor the effects of state tobacco
control programs through periodic national and state youth tobacco
surveys. Through these surveys, CDC obtains information on changes in
tobacco use among youth and their knowledge, attitudes, and behaviors
towards tobacco use. CDC officials said that they work with the states
to design the state surveys and to help states interpret and use the
survey data. CDC officials also said that they have obtained useful
information from evaluations that several states completed on the
effectiveness of their tobacco control programs.[Footnote 27]
According to CDC officials, the information they obtain has been used
in various ways. For example, in developing its best practice guidance
for comprehensive tobacco control programs, CDC used information from
analyses of tobacco control programs in California and Massachusetts
and CDC officials' experience in providing technical assistance in
other states. CDC officials also said that the agency has provided a
variety of training and technical assistance to help states, among
other things, adopt evidence-based interventions for preventing tobacco
use. In addition, CDC developed guidance in 2001 on how states could
evaluate their individual tobacco control programs.[Footnote 28] The
guidance includes information on approaches for designing evaluations;
measuring outcomes of specific program components; and analyzing,
interpreting, and using evaluation results to improve operations and
enhance the impact of tobacco control programs.
In fiscal year 2003, CDC took action to collect additional information
on the design, implementation, and effectiveness of state tobacco
control programs. For instance, CDC now requires that states submit
additional information in their biannual reports. These officials said
that the expanded NTCP data collection effort should enable CDC to
obtain a more comprehensive picture of state tobacco control programs
and the extent to which program activities are consistent with NTCP's
goals. CDC officials said that they anticipate that these changes,
along with the redesign of the NTCP information system, will facilitate
more comprehensive comparisons within and across states and regions on
progress towards reducing tobacco use. The changes should also enable
CDC to better identify state-specific or systemic issues, according to
these officials.
In fiscal year 2003, CDC began requiring that each state dedicate staff
to evaluate the state's tobacco control program. Each state was
required to submit detailed information with its NTCP funding
application that described how it intended to evaluate the program's
effectiveness. The application had to include information on the
specific performance indicators the state intends to use and its
methodologies for collecting and analyzing data, projected time lines
for completing evaluation efforts, and plans for using evaluation
results to improve its program. CDC officials told us that they
recognize that conducting program evaluations can present financial and
methodological challenges for state tobacco control programs, but that
CDC had instituted this requirement because evidence on the impact of
individual state programs has been generally limited. These officials
noted that while evaluations have been completed by eight states, the
results of these evaluations and other studies provide only a limited
picture of the impact of all states' programs in achieving NTCP's
goals.
SAMHSA Collects Information on States' Progress in Prohibiting the Sale
of Tobacco Products to Minors:
To monitor state compliance with the requirements of the Synar
Amendment and its implementing regulation, SAMHSA collects data on the
design and implementation of state compliance efforts. The regulation
requires that each state report to SAMHSA information on the state's
efforts to inspect retail tobacco outlets, including the state's
sampling methodology, inspection protocol, and inspection results.
SAMSHA reviews the information to determine whether states have
complied with requirements for enforcing state laws and conducting
random inspections of retail tobacco outlets. In reviewing these data,
SAMHSA determines whether a state's estimated retailer violation rate
meets negotiated annual targets and shows progress toward the 20
percent goal. Based on the latest data available at the time of our
review, 49 states met their negotiated retailer violation rate targets
for 2002.
Federal Departments and Agencies Collect Information on Their Programs
That Address Unhealthy Behaviors among Youth:
Federal agencies with programs that address tobacco use, along with
other unhealthy behaviors among youth, obtain information on grantees'
efforts to design and implement their programs. They obtain this
information by various means, such as periodic reports and visits to
grantee sites. For example, DOJ requires community antidrug coalitions
that participate in the Drug-Free Communities Support program to submit
annual progress reports on their programs. As part of this reporting
requirement, coalitions must report on certain measures of youth
behavior, such as the age youth first started to use tobacco, the
frequency of tobacco use in the past 30 days, and youths' perceptions
of tobacco-related risks. According to DOJ officials, the information
obtained from reports and site visits is used to provide grantees with
training and technical assistance. DOJ is also overseeing a 5-year
evaluation of the effectiveness of this federal grant program. The
evaluation, which is scheduled for completion in 2004, is designed to
take into consideration both the similarities and differences among the
coalitions and their communities and aims to assess the effectiveness
of the coalitions' efforts to reduce the use of tobacco, alcohol, and
illicit drugs among youth.
Similarly, to monitor their programs, DOJ and DOD contracted for
evaluations of the effectiveness of some DEFY components. For instance,
one study examined the effectiveness of the summer camp component in
1997 at 18 DOJ DEFY camps and 28 military DEFY camps. The study
included the use of pre-and postcamp questionnaires to assess youths'
attitudes towards smoking cigarettes and to determine how often they
smoked.[Footnote 29]
Federal Departments and Agencies Coordinate in Various Ways to Address
Tobacco Use among Youth:
HHS and other federal departments coordinate their efforts to prevent,
treat, and reduce tobacco use among youth by participating on various
committees and work groups and by collaborating on various programs,
research projects, and activities. Although HHS has the lead
responsibility for coordinating these efforts, some HHS officials
stated that coordination among HHS agencies presents challenges.
HHS Leads Coordination Efforts to Address Tobacco Use:
HHS leads efforts among its agencies and others to develop strategies
for addressing tobacco use among youth in support of the Healthy People
initiative, which includes objectives to reduce tobacco use among
youth. As part of this initiative, representatives from various federal
departments and nongovernmental organizations participate in work
groups that focus on tobacco use objectives. For example, the Healthy
People 2010 Tobacco Use Work Group, chaired by CDC, includes
representatives from other HHS agencies as well as the Environmental
Protection Agency (EPA), the Federal Trade Commission, and nonfederal
organizations. The work group meets periodically to discuss strategies
and challenges in addressing issues related to tobacco use.[Footnote
30]
HHS also plays a leadership role in the Youth Tobacco Cessation
Collaborative. Established in 1998, the collaborative brings together
CDC, NCI, NICHD, NIDA, the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute
(NHLBI), and several nonfederal organizations to help ensure young
tobacco users' access to cessation interventions.[Footnote 31] In 2000,
the collaborative published an action plan to facilitate planning and
priority-setting on the need for tobacco cessation for youth.[Footnote
32] In addition, three members of the collaborative--CDC, NCI, and
the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation--are working together on the
Helping Young Smokers Quit initiative, a 4-year project that aims to
identify, characterize, and evaluate the effectiveness of various
youth cessation programs.
Other work groups focus on broader adolescent health issues that
include tobacco use among youth. For example, both the Healthy People
2010 Adolescent Health Work Group, cochaired by CDC and HRSA, and the
related National Initiative to Improve Adolescent Health by 2010 aim to
foster greater involvement by various professions to improve the
overall health of adolescents, in part by reducing their use of
tobacco. According to HRSA officials, members of the national
initiative are trying to educate health care and other professionals on
the importance of screening for tobacco use and other unhealthy
behaviors during routine health care visits, providing counseling on
the benefits of quitting tobacco use, and providing referrals for
youth, their parents, and other family members to tobacco cessation
services. As part of the national initiative, CDC, HRSA, and the
American Academy of Pediatrics are collaborating on the development of
a prevention guide to help pediatricians address unhealthy behaviors
among youth, including tobacco use.
HHS Established the Interagency Committee on Smoking and Health to
Coordinate Federal Efforts:
In 1984, the Congress passed legislation requiring, among other things,
that HHS establish an interagency committee to coordinate the
department's research, educational programs, and other smoking and
health efforts with similar efforts of other federal departments and
nonfederal organizations.[Footnote 33] As a result, in 1985, HHS
established the Interagency Committee on Smoking and Health. According
to CDC officials, the committee brings together representatives of
federal agencies and nonfederal organizations involved in tobacco use
issues[Footnote 34] and serves as a forum for committee members and the
public to share information and discuss a variety of tobacco-related
issues and efforts. Committee meetings that have specifically focused
on tobacco use among youth have covered such topics as the health
effects of smoking on young people, the sale of cigarettes to minors,
and strategies for preventing tobacco use.
HHS and Other Federal Departments Coordinate Their Efforts by Jointly
Administering Programs and Supporting Research and Activities:
Federal departments also collaborate on efforts to prevent and reduce
tobacco use among youth by jointly administering programs, conducting
research, and supporting education and outreach activities. For
example, Education, DOJ, and HHS jointly administer the Safe Schools/
Healthy Students program. Through interagency agreements, Education
handles grants management activities, HHS provides technical advice and
financial assistance, and DOJ oversees program evaluation efforts.
Similarly, for the Drug-Free Communities Support program, ONDCP directs
the program and through an interagency agreement transfers funds to DOJ
to cover grant awards, grants management, and evaluation activities.
Both ONDCP and DOJ provide technical assistance to program grantees.
HHS agencies also coordinate on efforts to jointly support research on
tobacco use prevention and cessation. For example, in addition to the
NCI-and NIDA-supported TTURCs initiative, NCI led the creation of an
NIH-wide Tobacco and Nicotine Research Interest Group in January 2003.
According to NCI officials, the group was established to leverage
expertise and resources across NIH for tobacco research. In addition to
NCI, representatives from other NIH institutes, such as NICHD, NIDA,
NHLBI, and the National Institute of Dental and Craniofacial Research
(NIDCR) have participated in the group. Representatives from CDC are
also participating in the group's meetings.
Furthermore, HHS agencies, Education, ONDCP, and nonfederal
organizations collaborate on education and outreach activities aimed at
discouraging youth from starting to use tobacco and encouraging
existing users to quit. For example, CDC and Education collaborated on
the development and dissemination of a guide for parents on how to
address their children's health needs, including preventing and
reducing tobacco use. Table 1 highlights various education and outreach
activities aimed at preventing and reducing tobacco use among youth
that HHS and other federal departments and agencies work on together.
Table 1: Examples of Federal Collaborative Education and Outreach
Activities to Address Tobacco Use among Youth:
Activity or project: Tobacco-Free Sports; Federal departments or
agencies: CDC, NCI, SAMHSA, and ONDCP; Description: An initiative that
involves sports stars, sport leagues, and youth organizations helping
to deliver tobacco-free messages. The initiative is intended to depict
positive role models and provide information about how to make positive
health choices related to tobacco use, physical activity, and
nutrition.
Activity or project: Entertainment Industry Outreach; Federal
departments or agencies: CDC, NIDA SAMHSA, and ONDCP; Description: A
multifaceted outreach effort to, among other things, enlist celebrities
to serve as national spokespersons to deliver antismoking messages and
to educate young people on how to interpret depictions of tobacco use
in entertainment media. As part of this effort, federal agencies have
collaborated on promoting a video-based media literacy program, Scene
Smoking: Cigarettes, Cinema, and the Myth of Cool, aimed at high school
and college students.
Activity or project: Pathways to Freedom; Federal departments or
agencies: CDC and NCI; Description: A self-help guide intended to
motivate and assist African American adults and youth to stop smoking.
The guide is intended to prevent young children from developing the
smoking behaviors of their parents who use tobacco and to prevent
exposure to secondhand smoke.
Activity or project: Got a Minute? Give It to Your Kids; Federal
departments or agencies: CDC, SAMHSA, Education, and ONDCP;
Description: A guide to educate parents on how to comprehensively
address their children's health needs, including information on how to
prevent their children from using tobacco. Education is assisting CDC
in disseminating the guide to schools nationwide.
Source: HHS agencies, Education, and ONDCP.
[End of table]
HHS Officials Identified Several Challenges to Coordination within the
Department:
HHS officials said that coordinating on tobacco-related issues within
HHS presents challenges. They pointed out that, although multiple HHS
agencies have programs and other efforts to address the prevention and
reduction of tobacco use, the missions and funding priorities of the
agencies differ. For example, CDC officials told us that they had
initiated discussions in fiscal year 2003 with HRSA to collaborate on
offering tobacco prevention and cessation services to underserved
populations that obtain health care through HRSA's network of community
health centers. However, this effort has been delayed largely due to
HRSA's competing funding priorities and limited resources. In another
instance, NCI officials noted that NIDA and NIDCR decided to fund a
proposal to translate research findings on alcohol, tobacco, and other
drug prevention and treatment research to clinical dental practice
settings. However, according to an NCI official, NCI did not learn
about the proposal in time to consider it for fiscal year 2003 funding.
Agency Comments:
We provided a draft of this report to HHS, DOD, DOJ, and Education for
comment. DOD concurred with the report as written and DOJ did not have
comments. HHS and Education provided technical comments that we
incorporated as appropriate.
In written comments, HHS stated that the report was very informative
and provided a thorough overview of nicotine and tobacco activities
related to youth, but did not include programs within CMS that are a
substantial element of HHS tobacco prevention. Specifically, HHS stated
that under Medicaid, states are required to cover certain smoking
cessation services for children and adolescents. Including joint
federal-state programs that finance health insurance such Medicaid and
the State Children's Health Insurance Program, was beyond the scope of
our review. HHS also noted that the report did not include information
about the challenges other federal agencies experienced in coordinating
tobacco-related issues. We discussed coordination of tobacco-related
issues with officials from DOD, DOJ, and Education. However, these
officials did not cite any challenges they had experienced with
coordinating their tobacco-related efforts.
As agreed with your office, unless you release its contents earlier, we
plan no further distribution of this report until 30 days after the
issue date. At that time, we will send copies of this report to the
Secretary of Health and Human Services, the Secretary of Defense, the
Attorney General, the Secretary of Education, appropriate congressional
committees, and other interested parties. We will also make copies
available to others upon request. In addition, the report is available
at no charge on the GAO Web site at http://www.gao.gov. If you or your
staff have questions about this report, please contact me at (202) 512-
7101. An additional contact and staff acknowledgments are provided in
appendix III.
Sincerely yours,
Marjorie E. Kanof:
Director, Health Care--Clinical Health Care Issues:
Signed by Marjorie E. Kanof:
[End of section]
Appendix I: Scope and Methodology:
To do our work, we obtained and reviewed program documents, strategic
and performance plans, pertinent program reports and special studies,
surveillance and other data, and federal Web sites from the Department
of Health and Human Services (HHS) including the Office of the
Secretary, the Office of the Assistant Secretary for Planning and
Evaluation, Office of Public Health and Science, Agency for Healthcare
Research and Quality, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC),
Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, Health Resources and Services
Administration (HRSA), Indian Health Service, National Institutes of
Health (NIH), and Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services
Administration (SAMHSA); the Departments of Defense (DOD), Justice
(DOJ), and Education; the Environmental Protection Agency; the Federal
Trade Commission; and the Office of National Drug Control Policy
(ONDCP). We also reviewed the relevant literature and documents
prepared by federal interagency committees and work groups that focused
on the prevention and reduction of tobacco use among youth and adults.
To identify federal programs that aim to prevent and reduce tobacco use
among youth (defined as children and adolescents under age 18), we
reviewed the Catalog of Federal Domestic Assistance, a database of
federal grant programs.[Footnote 35] We also reviewed pertinent
documents and federal Web sites. After identifying federal programs, we
interviewed and collected information from federal program officials to
confirm that these programs supported efforts to prevent and reduce
tobacco use among youth.[Footnote 36] As a result, we focused on four
federal departments: HHS and its component agencies--CDC, SAMHSA, NIH,
and HRSA; Education; DOJ; and DOD. We then obtained more detailed
information on the programs they fund. We interviewed officials in HHS,
DOD, DOJ, and Education and obtained information on program
characteristics, including the purpose, target audience, and program
and financial requirements. We also obtained information on research
and activities that involve federal departments and agencies, such as
education and outreach efforts intended to prevent the initiation of
tobacco use among youth and help youth quit tobacco use. In conducting
this work, we also reviewed strategic and annual performance plans,
along with budgetary and other pertinent documents, including national
action plans and tobacco use prevention and cessation guidance. Where
available, we obtained fiscal year 2002 funding information on the
federal programs and research that we identified. However, we were
unable to determine the extent of spending by federal agencies on
efforts to prevent and reduce tobacco use among youth because, in many
instances, funding information covers more than the prevention and
reduction of tobacco use among youth. The programs, research, and
activities that we discuss in this report do not represent an
exhaustive list of all federal efforts to prevent and reduce tobacco
use among youth, but highlight a range of such efforts.
To determine how federal departments and agencies monitor programs that
aim to prevent and reduce tobacco use among youth and the types of
monitoring information that departments and agencies collect, we
obtained and reviewed descriptive information on federal departments
and agencies' monitoring efforts. Specifically, we reviewed strategic
plans, annual performance plans and reports, performance monitoring
reports, program evaluation guidance, and copies of federal and state
program evaluation reports. We also interviewed program officials to
obtain a more detailed understanding of their monitoring efforts.
To determine how federal departments and agencies coordinate their
efforts to address youth tobacco use, we focused our attention on
identifying the key coordination mechanisms and the results of such
coordination. Specifically, we reviewed strategic and annual
performance plans and reports, interagency agreements, memorandums of
understanding, minutes of interagency meetings, and other pertinent
documents. We also interviewed federal program officials and obtained
information from these officials describing the characteristics of
various federal efforts, including information on purpose, federal
agencies involved, and the target audience. We also obtained their
perspectives on any factors presenting coordination challenges related
to addressing youth tobacco use.
We conducted our work from January 2003 through October 2003 in
accordance with generally accepted government auditing standards. Our
findings are limited to the select examples identified and thus do not
necessarily reflect the full scope of federal programs and other
activities related to preventing and reducing tobacco use among youth.
We did not assess the effectiveness of federal programs, monitoring
efforts, or coordination activities.
[End of section]
Appendix II: Selected Federal Programs That Address or Can Address
Tobacco Prevention and Reduction among Youth:
Table 2 lists selected federal grant programs that may be used to
address tobacco use among youth. The list includes programs from four
departments.
Table 2: Selected Federal Programs That Address or Can Address Tobacco
Prevention and Reduction among Youth:
Department of Health and Human Services:
Program: Centers for Disease Control and Prevention:
Program: National Tobacco Control; Funding fiscal year 2002[A]:
Department of Health and Human Services: Centers for Disease Control
and Prevention: $58,000,000; Eligible applicants[B]: Department of
Health and Human Services: States; Targeted beneficiaries: Department
of Health and Human Services: General population; Grant program
description: Department of Health and Human Services: To support state
tobacco control programs to prevent and reduce tobacco use, including
preventing youth from starting to smoke.
Program: Tribal Support Centers; Funding fiscal year 2002[A]:
Department of Health and Human Services: Centers for Disease Control
and Prevention: $1,600,000; Eligible applicants[B]: Department of
Health and Human Services: Tribes and tribal organizations; Targeted
beneficiaries: Department of Health and Human Services: American
Indian/Alaskan Natives; Grant program description: Department of Health
and Human Services: To support seven tribal centers in developing
tobacco control programs to prevent and reduce tobacco use, including
preventing youth from starting to smoke.
Program: Coordinated School Health; Funding fiscal year 2002[A]:
Department of Health and Human Services: Centers for Disease Control
and Prevention: $11,000,000; Eligible applicants[B]: Department of
Health and Human Services: State and local education agencies; Targeted
beneficiaries: Department of Health and Human Services: Students in
grades 9 through 12; Grant program description: Department of Health
and Human Services: To support school health programs in discouraging
unhealthy behaviors, such as poor eating habits, physical inactivity,
and tobacco use.
Program: Preventive Services Block Grant to States; Funding fiscal year
2002[A]: Department of Health and Human Services: Centers for Disease
Control and Prevention: $408,450[C]; Eligible applicants[B]:
Department of Health and Human Services: States; Targeted
beneficiaries: Department of Health and Human Services: General
population; Grant program description: Department of Health and Human
Services: To carry out public health activities, including preventing
tobacco sales to minors.
Program: Health Resources and Services Administration:
Program: Healthy Schools, Healthy Communities; Funding fiscal year
2002[A]: Department of Health and Human Services: Centers for Disease
Control and Prevention: $19,500,000; Eligible applicants[B]:
Department of Health and Human Services: Public and nonprofit private
entities, including faith-based and community-based organizations;
Targeted beneficiaries: Department of Health and Human Services:
Students attending schools (kindergarten through grade 12) that serve
low-income or high-risk children; Grant program description: Department
of Health and Human Services: To increase access to comprehensive
primary and preventive health care for underserved children,
adolescents, and their families, including tobacco prevention and
reduction programs.
Program: Community Health Centers; Funding fiscal year 2002[A]:
Department of Health and Human Services: Centers for Disease Control
and Prevention: $1,077,578,000; Eligible applicants[B]: Department of
Health and Human Services: Public and nonprofit private entities,
including faith-based and community-based organizations; Targeted
beneficiaries: Department of Health and Human Services: People in
medically underserved areas; Grant program description: Department of
Health and Human Services: To develop and operate community health
centers that provide preventive and primary health care services, and
link clients with Medicaid and mental health and substance abuse
treatment, including that for tobacco use.
Program: Maternal and Child Health Services Block Grant to States;
Funding fiscal year 2002[A]: Department of Health and Human Services:
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention: $595,727,279; Eligible
applicants[B]: Department of Health and Human Services: States;
Targeted beneficiaries: Department of Health and Human Services:
Pregnant women, mothers, infants and children, and children with
special health care needs, particularly those of low-income families;
Grant program description: Department of Health and Human Services: To
maintain and strengthen state leadership in planning, promoting,
coordinating, and evaluating health care services. Funds can be used
for tobacco prevention programs and activities.
Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration:
Program: Synar Amendment; Funding fiscal year 2002[A]: Department of
Health and Human Services: Centers for Disease Control and Prevention:
$5,448,273[D]; Eligible applicants[B]: Department of Health and Human
Services: States; Targeted beneficiaries: Department of Health and
Human Services: Children under age 18; Grant program description:
Department of Health and Human Services: To enable states to implement
the Synar survey requirements to assess state compliance and
enforcement of tobacco access control laws that prohibit the sale and
distribution of tobacco products to individuals under age 18.
Program: Substance Abuse Prevention and Treatment Block Grant; Funding
fiscal year 2002[A]: Department of Health and Human Services: Centers
for Disease Control and Prevention: $1,725,000,000; Eligible
applicants[B]: Department of Health and Human Services: States;
Targeted beneficiaries: Department of Health and Human Services:
General population; Grant program description: Department of Health and
Human Services: To provide financial assistance to states for the
purpose of planning, carrying out, and evaluating activities to prevent
and treat substance abuse, including youth tobacco use.
Program: State Incentive Grants; Funding fiscal year 2002[A]:
Department of Health and Human Services: Centers for Disease Control
and Prevention: $58,480,885; Eligible applicants[B]: Department of
Health and Human Services: States; Targeted beneficiaries: Department
of Health and Human Services: Adolescents; Grant program description:
Department of Health and Human Services: To prevent and reduce alcohol,
tobacco, and illicit drug use by adolescents ages 12-17.
Department of Education:
Program: Office of Elementary and Secondary Education:
Program: Safe and Drug-Free Schools and Communities: State Grants;
Funding fiscal year 2002[A]: Centers for Disease Control and
Prevention: $472,017,000; Eligible applicants[B]: State departments
of education; Targeted beneficiaries: Children and youth who are
enrolled and attending school (primarily kindergarten through grade
12); Grant program description: To support programs that seek to
prevent violence in and around schools; prevent illegal use of
alcohol, tobacco, and drugs; and coordinate with federal, state,
school, and community efforts to foster a safe and drug-free learning
environment.
Eligible applicants[B]: Governors; Targeted beneficiaries: Children
and youth not normally served by state or local educational agencies,
or populations that need special services or additional resources
(for example, youth in detention facilities and runaway and homeless
youth); Grant program description: To support programs of drug use
(including tobacco) and violence prevention.
Multiagency programs:
Program: Drug-Free Communities Support (DOJ and ONDCP); Funding fiscal
year 2002[A]: Centers for Disease Control and Prevention:
$46,000,000; Eligible applicants[B]: Community coalitions; Targeted
beneficiaries: Youth; Grant program description: To support
coalitions engaged in efforts to prevent youth alcohol, tobacco,
illicit drug, and inhalant abuse.
Program: Drug Education for Youth (DOJ and DOD); Funding fiscal year
2002[A]: Centers for Disease Control and Prevention: $1,869,136;
Eligible applicants[B]: Community coalitions; Targeted beneficiaries:
Youth ages 9 to 12; Grant program description: To support a
multiphased program for 9-to 12-year-olds to reduce risk factors that
scientific research has linked to adolescent substance abuse,
including tobacco use, school failure, delinquency, and violence.
Program: Safe Schools/Healthy Students (Education, HHS and DOJ);
Funding fiscal year 2002[A]: Centers for Disease Control and
Prevention: $171,588,449; Eligible applicants[B]: Local education
agencies in partnership with local public mental health authorities,
and law enforcement agencies; Targeted beneficiaries: Preschool and
school-age children, adolescents, and their families who are at risk
of being involved in drug abuse, or violence as perpetrators,
victims, or witnesses; Grant program description: To assist school
districts in developing comprehensive services to promote healthy
childhood development and prevent violence and alcohol and other drug
abuse, including tobacco use.
Sources: Agency program officials, agency documents, and the Catalog
of Federal Domestic Assistance.
[A] All funding is amount appropriated or allocated.
[B] In this column, the term "state" includes the District of Columbia
and some or all of the following: the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, the
U.S. Virgin Islands, the Republic of Palau, the Federated States of
Micronesia, and other territories or possessions of the United States
unless otherwise noted.
[C] Total block grant funding for chronic disease programs was
$49,601,321.
[D] State-reported planned expenditures for fiscal year 2002.
[End of table]
[End of section]
Appendix III: Comments from the Department of Health and Human
Services:
DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH & HUMAN SERVICES
Office of inspector General:
OCT 31 2003:
Ms. Marjorie E. Kanof:
Director, Health Care - Clinical Health Care Issues United States
General Accounting Office
Washington, D.C. 20548:
Dear Ms. Kanof:
Enclosed are the Department's comments on your draft report entitled,
"Tobacco Use and Public Health: Federal Efforts to Prevent and Reduce
Tobacco Use Among Youth." The comments represent the tentative position
of the Department and are subject to reevaluation when the final
version of this report is received.
The Department also provided several technical comments directly to
your staff.
The Department appreciates the opportunity to comment on this draft
report before its publication.
Sincerely,
Signed by:
Dara Corrigan:
Acting Principal Deputy Inspector General:
Enclosure:
The Office of Inspector General (01G) is transmitting the Department's
response to this draft report in our capacity as the Department's
designated focal point and coordinator for General Accounting Office
reports. OIG has not conducted an independent assessment of these
comments and therefore expresses no opinion on them.
Comments of the Department of Health and Human Services on the U.S.
General Accounting Office's Draft Report, "Tobacco Use and Public
Health: Federal Efforts to Prevent and Reduce Tobacco Use Among Youth"
(GAO-04-41):
The Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) appreciates the
opportunity to comment on the above-referenced draft report. HHS
recognizes the importance of addressing tobacco use among youth, and is
pleased that efforts such as the National Tobacco Control Program were
reviewed and included as examples of the Department's activity and
leadership in this area. The report is very informative of Federal
efforts to prevent and reduce youth smoking, and HHS appreciates the
extensive efforts that the General Accounting Office (GAO) expended in
assembling this thorough overview of nicotine and tobacco activities
related to youth.
However, the draft report appears to have missed a substantial element
of HHS tobacco prevention by not including programs within the Centers
for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS). Within Medicaid, the Federal
guidelines specifically permit coverage of tobacco cessation therapy
with a particular focus on children (and on pregnant women). A State
Medicaid Director letter on the CMS web site [Hyperlink,
http://www.cms.hhs.gov/states/letters/smdOI051.asp], notes that:
"States are required to cover smoking cessation drug therapy when it
is determined medically necessary for eligible individuals under age
21 ." The letter continues by noting that: "States also are required
as part of EPSDT screening component to discuss tobacco use and
provide counseling for smoking cessation to children and adolescents
at appropriate ages." Therefore, the draft report would have benefited
from including a discussion of CMS programs as well.
In several places (e.g., pages 4, 18, and 23), the draft report refers
to HHS officials commenting that coordination between multiple HHS
agencies across programs can be difficult because of differing missions
and priorities. Challenges experienced by other Departments, if any,
are not noted. If GAO has information related to coordination
challenges in other Departments, the inclusion in the report of this
kind of information may create more of a balance. In addition, HHS
believes that these kinds of comments are useful only if presented in
the context of a background in which specific examples are cited to
indicate how real roadblocks, if any exist, may be removed.
[End of section]
Appendix IV: GAO Contact and Acknowledgments:
GAO Contact:
James O. McClyde, (202) 512-7152:
Acknowledgments:
In addition to the person named above, contributors to this report were
Alice London, Donna Bulvin, Krister Friday, and Lawrence Solomon.
FOOTNOTES
[1] Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, "Annual Smoking-
Attributable Mortality, Years of Potential Life Lost, and Economic
Costs - United States, 1995-1999," Morbidity and Mortality Weekly
Report, vol. 51, no. 14 (2002) 300-303. The Morbidity and Mortality
Weekly Report disseminates information about the public health issues
in which CDC is involved.
[2] U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Preventing Tobacco
Use Among Young People: A Report of the Surgeon General (Atlanta, Ga.:
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 1994).
[3] The Synar Amendment is found in §1926 of the Public Health Service
Act as added by the Drug Abuse and Mental Health Administration
Reorganization Act, Pub. L. No. 102-321 § 202, 106 Stat. 394 (1992)
(classified to 42 U.S.C. § 300x-26 (2000)).
[4] For the purposes of this report, youth refers to children and
adolescents under the age of 18.
[5] In this report, the term "activities" refers to federal efforts to
prevent and reduce tobacco use among youth, such as education and
outreach and training and technical assistance.
[6] The General Services Administration maintains this database.
[7] The scope of our work did not include programs that finance health
insurance such as Medicaid.
[8] L.D. Johnston, P.M. O'Malley, and J.G. Bachman, Monitoring the
Future: National Results on Adolescent Drug Use: Overview of Key
Findings, 2002, NIH Publication No. 03-5374 (Bethesda, Md.: National
Institute on Drug Abuse, 2002).
[9] The Office on Smoking and Health is a division of the National
Center for Chronic Disease Prevention and Health Promotion.
[10] The Healthy People 2010 leading health indicators are physical
activity, overweight and obesity, tobacco use, substance abuse,
responsible sexual behavior, mental health, injury and violence,
environmental quality, immunization, and access to health care.
[11] In 1999, two HHS demonstration projects--the American Stop Smoking
Intervention Study for Cancer Prevention and the Initiatives to
Mobilize for the Prevention and Control of Tobacco Use--were combined
to form NTCP.
[12] In our discussion of NTCP, the term "states" refers to the 50
states, the District of Columbia, and American Samoa, Guam, the
Federated States of Micronesia, the Commonwealth of the Northern
Mariana Islands, the Republic of Palau, Puerto Rico, and the U.S.
Virgin Islands.
[13] In addition to NTCP funds, states use funds from other sources,
such as other federal programs and initiatives, state taxes and state
settlements with tobacco companies, and competitive grants from private
foundations to finance their tobacco control programs and activities.
[14] Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Best Practices for
Comprehensive Tobacco Control Programs, August 1999 (Atlanta Ga.:
1999).
[15] 42 U.S.C. § 300x 26 (2002) Synar Amendment: 45 C.F.R. § 96.130
(2002) implementing regulation. SAMHSA requires states to develop and
implement a consistent sample design and a standardized inspection
procedure. SAMHSA provides guidance to states on effective ways to
conduct unannounced inspections and to estimate statewide violation
rates. See U.S. General Accounting Office, Synar Amendment
Implementation: Quality of State Data on Reducing Youth Access to
Tobacco Could Be Improved, GAO-02-74 (Washington, D.C.: Nov. 7, 2001).
[16] 42 U.S.C. § 300x-26(b)(2)(B)(i) (2000). States must comply with
the Synar Amendment and its implementing regulation to obtain federal
Substance Abuse Prevention and Treatment block grants. The Synar
Amendment provides for a 40 percent reduction in a state's Substance
Abuse Prevention and Treatment block grant for noncompliance with Synar
requirements. However, provisions contained in the HHS annual
appropriations acts since fiscal year 2000 have prohibited the
Secretary of HHS from withholding grant funds from noncompliant states
that pledge to commit state funds to ensure compliance with state laws
prohibiting tobacco sales to minors. (See, e.g., Consolidated
Appropriations Resolution, 2003, Pub. L. No. 108-7, Div. G, § 214, 117
Stat. 11, 324.)
[17] This program was authorized under the Safe and Drug-Free Schools
and Communities Act, Title IV, Part A of the Elementary and Secondary
Education Act of 1965 as amended by the No Child Left Behind Act of
2001, Pub. L. No. 107-110, §401, 115 Stat.1425, 1734-1765 (classified
to 20 U.S.C. § 7101-7165 (Supp. I 2002)). The program has two main
components, a state grant program and a national program. The national
program provides discretionary funding for demonstration projects,
special initiatives, technical assistance to states and districts,
evaluation, and other efforts to improve drug and violence prevention.
[18] These grants afford grantees significant discretion in
implementing the federal program. In general, the Safe and Drug-Free
Schools and Communities Act State Grants program funds a variety of
violence, drug, alcohol, and tobacco prevention activities, including
prevention instruction for students; and teacher and staff training and
support services for students.
[19] This program was authorized by the Drug-Free Communities Act of
1997, Pub. L. No. 105-20, § 2, 111 Stat. 224, 226 (classified to 21
U.S.C. § 1531(2000)).
[20] Other NIH institutes, such as the National Institute of Child
Health and Human Development (NICHD) and the National Institute of
Dental and Craniofacial Research (NIDCR) also conduct research on
tobacco use among youth.
[21] The Robert Wood Johnson Foundation also provides funding for
TTURCs.
[22] These four centers are located at Brown University, the University
of Pennsylvania/Georgetown University, the University of Southern
California, and the University of California at Irvine. The other
funded research centers are located at the University of Minnesota,
University of Wisconsin Medical School, and Yale University.
[23] The Nation's Investment in Cancer Research for Fiscal Year 2003,
National Cancer Institute, National Institutes of Health (http:/
plan2003.cancer.gov/scipri/tobacco.htm).
[24] Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Guidelines for School
Health Programs to Prevent Tobacco Use and Addiction, Morbidity and
Mortality Weekly Report, vol. 43, no. RR-2, 1-18 1994 (Atlanta, Ga.:
1994), 43.
[25] U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Reducing Tobacco Use
Among Youth: Community-Based Approaches, Prevention Enhancement
Protocol, 1997, DHHS Publication No. 97-3146 (Rockville, Md., Substance
Abuse and Mental Health Administration: 1997).
[26] This program was developed by the Boys and Girls Club of America.
[27] According to CDC officials, evaluations of state tobacco control
programs have been completed by Arizona, California, Florida, Maine,
Massachusetts, Mississippi, Oregon, and Texas.
[28] Goldie MacDonald and others, Introduction to Program Evaluation
for Comprehensive Tobacco Control Programs (Atlanta, Ga.: Centers for
Disease Control and Prevention, November 2001) and Centers for Disease
Control and Prevention, Surveillance and Evaluation Data Sources for
Comprehensive Tobacco Control Programs (Atlanta, Ga.: November 2001).
[29] We did not review the methodology used in the evaluation of DEFY.
[30] Other HHS agencies represented on the Tobacco Use Work Group are
the Administration for Children and Families, the Agency for Healthcare
Research and Quality (AHRQ), the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid
Services (CMS), HRSA, the Indian Health Service (IHS), NIH, and SAMHSA.
[31] Nonfederal members involved in the collaborative include the
American Cancer Society, the American Legacy Foundation, the American
Lung Association, the Canadian Tobacco Research Initiative, the
National Cancer Institute of Canada, and the Robert Wood Johnson
Foundation.
[32] Center for the Advancement of Health for the Youth Tobacco
Cessation Collaborative, National Blueprint for Action: Youth and Young
Adult Tobacco-Use Cessation (Washington, D.C.: 2000).
[33] Comprehensive Smoking Education Act of 1984, Pub. L. No. 98-474 §
3, 98 Stat. 2200-2201 (classified to 15 U.S.C. §1341(b) (2000)).
[34] As of October 2003, other federal entities represented on the
Interagency Committee on Smoking and Health are HHS's AHRQ, CDC, CMS,
HRSA, IHS, NCI, NICHD, NIDA, NHLBI, and SAMHSA; the Departments of
Labor and Transportation; EPA; and the Federal Trade Commission.
[35] The General Services Administration maintains this database.
[36] The scope of our work did not include programs that finance health
insurance such as Medicaid.
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