Problem/Objective: On January 1, 2007, a Texas cigarette tax increase of a dollar had been imposed. The total state cigarette tax is presently $1.41, and the federal tax is $0.917. Until January 2007, the state cigarette tax had remained at $0.41 for 16 years. Although the main rationale for increasing cigarette tax is youth prevention, the primary aim of this study is to evaluate whether the tax increase had any impact on adult smokers' cessation interest. The secondary aim is to determine if, and to what extent, different age and socioeconomic populations are affected.

Methods: At baseline, Intake Specialists at the American Cancer Society's Quitline collected demographic information (e.g. age and zip code) and smoking status of Texas residents, and inquired whether the recent tax increase had influenced their decision to call. Socio-Economic Status (SES) was determined by zip code.

Results: In January, immediately after the tax increase went into effect, 368 (41.9%) of the 879 callers affirmed that their decision to call was influenced by the tax increase. In February, 137 (29.3%) of the 468 callers also attributed their call to the recent tax increase. This presentation will report utilization data for six months, along with related SES and age data.

Conclusions: Preliminary data suggests that the tax increase did affect adult smokers' cessation interest in the first two months following the introduction of the tax. Analyses of the next four months will allow exploration of the strength and duration of that effect and whether it's systematically related to either age or SES.