Learning Objectives: Describe the lives and costs saved via California's disproportionate reductions in smoking and teen/young adult accident and suicide death.
Abstract: Problem: Smoking causes fires, crashes, injury complications, and self-perceived stress. Smoking is a likely cause of numerous accident and suicide deaths. Such deaths cost Americans over $100 billion/year. Teen/young adult accident and suicide costs are particularly high.
California led the nation in percent reduction in smoking in the 1990s. So I evaluated California accident and suicide death trends for ages 15-34 from 1990 to 1998.
Methods: We used data from wonder.cdc.gov and http://seer.cancer.gov/ScientificSystems/CanQues/.
Results: From 1990-98 in California teens/young adults, accident and suicide death rates fell 32% and 19% respectively. Those represent estimated annual percent changes (EAPC) of -5.2 (95% confidence interval (CI) -5.9-4.5) and -2.65 (CI -4.7-0.5) for accident and suicide respectively. California's EAPC was second best for accidents, significantly better than 48 other states. California's EAPC was sixth best for suicides.
The entire US averaged accident and suicide EAPCs of -1.9 and -1.3, respectively in the same age and time period.
Conclusions: California's major reductions in smoking in the 1990's have been associated with rapid, statistically significant reductions in teen/young adult accident and suicide rates. This likely saved Californians many billions of dollars in injury costs.
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