Kristina B Metzger ¹, Farzad Mostashari ¹, Bonnie D Kerker ^1*

¹ NYC Dept. of Health and Mental Hygiene

^* To whom correspondence should be addressed. E-mail: bkerker{at}health.nyc.gov.

	Abstract

Objectives: As part of a comprehensive tobacco control program, New York recently increased state and city cigarette excise taxes and implemented a smoke-free workplace law. To assess the impact of these policies on smoking cessation in New York City, over-the-counter sales of nicotine replacement therapies were examined. Methods: Pharmacy sales data were collected in real-time as part of nontraditional surveillance activities. We used Poisson generalized estimating equations to analyze to effect of these smoking-related policies on pharmacy-specific weekly counts of nicotine patch and gum sales. Effect modification by pharmacy location was assessed. Results: We observed increases in nicotine patch and gum sales during the weeks of the cigarette tax increases and the smoke-free workplace law. Pharmacies located in low-income areas had generally larger and more persistent increases in response to tax increases than in higher-income areas. Conclusions: Real-time monitoring of existing nontraditional surveillance data, such as nicotine replacement therapy pharmacy sales, can help assess the effect of public policies on cessation attempts. Cigarette tax increases and smoke-free workplace regulation are associated with increased smoking cessation attempts in New York City, particularly in low-income areas.

Key Words: Health Policy, Surveillance, Smoking Cessation, Tobacco Control

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