Evaluation of the Arkansas Tobacco Settlement Program

Evaluation of the Arkansas Tobacco Settlement Program: Progress Through 2011

John Engberg
Deborah M. Scharf
Susan L. Lovejoy
Hao Yu
Shannah Tharp-Taylor
Copyright Date: 2012
Published by: RAND Corporation
Pages: 92
https://www.jstor.org/stable/10.7249/j.ctt3fh0v5
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  • Book Info
    Evaluation of the Arkansas Tobacco Settlement Program
    Book Description:

    In 2001, Arkansas ranked 45th of 50 states on a composite score of all health outcomes. Arkansas is now a regional leader in tobacco control. This final biennial report documents the Arkansas Tobacco Settlement Commission’s continued activity and progress, and gauges the effectiveness of the state’s seven health-related programs in the past decade. Included is an evaluation of the changes in health outcomes attributed to these programs.

    eISBN: 978-0-8330-7986-2
    Subjects: Health Sciences

Table of Contents

  1. Front Matter
    (pp. i-ii)
  2. Preface
    (pp. iii-iv)
  3. Table of Contents
    (pp. v-vi)
  4. Figures
    (pp. vii-viii)
  5. Tables
    (pp. ix-x)
  6. Summary
    (pp. xi-xxii)

    In November 1998, U.S. states and the major tobacco companies ended years of prolonged legal disputes by signing the Master Settlement Agreement (MSA). Under the terms of the agreement, the tobacco companies agreed to pay participating states more than $206 billion over 25 years. Arkansas’s share of these payments is .828 percent, approximately $1.7 billion, which the state has been receiving since 2000.

    Unique among the states, in Arkansas a commitment was made by both elected officials and the general public to invest its share of the MSA funds in health-related programs. The Tobacco Settlement Proceeds Act, a referendum passed...

  7. Acknowledgments
    (pp. xxiii-xxiv)
  8. Abbreviations
    (pp. xxv-xxvi)
  9. CHAPTER ONE Introduction and Background
    (pp. 1-4)

    In November 1998, U.S. states and the major tobacco companies ended years of legal battles by signing the Master Settlement Agreement (MSA). Under the terms of the agreement, the tobacco companies agreed to pay participating states more than $206 billion over 25 years. Arkansas’s share of these payments is .828 percent, approximately $1.7 billion in total, which the state has been receiving since the agreement went into effect.

    Unique among the states, in Arkansas a commitment was made by both elected officials and the general public to invest its share of the MSA funds in health-related programs. The Tobacco Settlement...

  10. CHAPTER TWO Tobacco-Related Policy, Programming, and Outcomes
    (pp. 5-20)

    In this chapter we evaluate what the state of Arkansas is doing to protect its citizens from tobacco-related harm using MSA funds. We first examine the context by reviewing Arkansas’s previous and current tobacco-control policies. We then describe the activities of Arkansas’s MSA-funded TPCP, which are intended to prevent youth smoking uptake and help current smokers (and other tobacco users) to quit. Finally, we discuss changes in state smoking rates and other tobacco-related outcomes, such as tobacco-related disease.

    The relationship of Arkansans to tobacco has changed dramatically since 2000. The state now has 100,000 fewer smokers than it did a...

  11. CHAPTER THREE Health Context, Programming, and Health Outcomes
    (pp. 21-58)

    Although the most visible focus of the Initiated Act is tobacco-related health issues, the act directed the majority of the funds to improve Arkansans’ health in other ways. MSA funds were directed to six nontobacco programs targeting the root causes of poor health in Arkansas, including lack of access to health care and limited public knowledge regarding healthy behaviors.

    In this chapter, we first describe Arkansas’s health challenges at the time the act was initiated. Then we discuss how the funded programs were intended to help. Following this, we review each of the six nontobacco programs, including a review of...

  12. CHAPTER FOUR Key Findings and Recommendations
    (pp. 59-62)

    This final report describes the context, activities, and changes in outcomes that have occurred over the past decade associated with the seven health-related programs funded by Arkansas’s share of the multistate MSA through the Arkansas Tobacco Settlement Act. In this final chapter, we summarize our key findings and provide recommendations for the programs going forward.

    Arkansas is a regional leader in tobacco control, which includes not only the MSA-funded activities of TPCP but also its tobacco taxation and smoke-free air efforts. These efforts, especially the dedication of almost one-third of its MSA funds to tobacco prevention and cessation, have been...

  13. References
    (pp. 63-66)