Overview of the Tobacco Control Policy Tool

CISNET investigators launched an online tool that simulates the potential effects of tobacco control policies on population health. We invite you to share this tool with your colleagues and networks, including individuals working on health policies at the state, local, and federal levels.

The Tobacco Control Policy (TCP) tool, available at www.tobaccopolicyeffects.org provides decision-makers and health professionals with estimates of the projected impact of four specific tobacco control policies in the US and for each of the 50 states and Washington, DC:

  1. Raising the tax on cigarettes,
  2. Implementing smoke-free air laws,
  3. Increasing tobacco control program expenditures, and
  4. Raising the minimum age of legal access to tobacco.

Estimates for projected smoking prevalence, number of deaths avoided, and number of life-years gained were derived from simulations of over 2,200 policy scenarios, with 30 million people per scenario.

Projected Impact of Raising Cigarette Taxes

Screenshot of the Tobacco Policy Effects website, impact of raising cigarette taxes

Click the graph for larger view

Screenshot of the Tobacco Policy Effects website

For information about the modeling methods used by the TCP tool, an open-access study protocol is available at BMJ Open.