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The Impact Of The 2018 Kentucky Cigarettes Taxes On Tobacco Use Among Youth, Claire W. Mampunza

Theses and Dissertations--Public Health (M.P.H. & Dr.P.H.)

Introduction: In the Commonwealth of Kentucky, cigarette smoking results in 1.92 billion dollars spent every year on medical costs, the death of approximately 9,000 Kentuckians, and 34 percent of all cancer cases. In 2017, 14.3 percent of high school students in Kentucky declared being current cigarette smokers, compared to 8.8 percent nationally. Tobacco use among youth is a public health concern because 88 percent of adult smokers initiate smoking before age 18. Youth nicotine use can damage the growing brain, which continues to develop until 25 years of age. In July 2018, the excise tax on cigarettes increased from …