Skip to main content
SpringerLink
Log in

U.S. federal tobacco control policy from 1964 to 2013: Were punctuated and significant public health reforms enacted?

  • Original Article
  • Published:
Social Theory & Health Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

Currently, an academic controversy exists regarding whether U.S. tobacco control policy has been punctuated and rapid, primarily driven by federal policymaking or a combination of federal, state, and local policymaking, and has substantially reduced tobacco consumption. An analysis of U.S. tobacco control policy from 1964 to 2013 indicates federal policy change was not rapid and punctuated and some limited progress occurred in improving the public health. Asserting all U.S. tobacco control policy is purportedly punctuated because of federal tobacco control efforts also ignores discretionary policy output and outcome legislation and regulations operating solely at the state or local levels of government. Analyses of punctuated policy change trends must include operationalized policy outputs and outcomes grounded in scholarly historical and scientific research that analyzes all key policy issues such as clean indoor air linked to a general policy area, like tobacco control, to determine whether punctuation has occurred or not. In the case of federal, but not state tobacco policy, punctuation did not occur. Instead, there were some moderate and incremental advances in tobacco control contradicted by federal tobacco consumption and support policies.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this article

Log in via an institution

Price excludes VAT (USA)
Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout.

Instant access to the full article PDF.

Institutional subscriptions

Similar content being viewed by others

References

  • Adams, E.K., Markowitz, S., Kannan, V., Dietz, P.M., Tong, V.T. and Malarcher, A.M. (2012) Reducing prenatal smoking: The role of state policies. American Journal of Preventive Medicine, 43: 34–40.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • American Lung Association. (2016) State legislated actions on tobacco issues (SLATI) State Pages. Retrieved from http://www.lungusa2.org/slati/states.php.

  • Bansal-Travers, M., Hammond, D., Smith, P. and Cummings, K. (2011) The impact of cigarette pack design, descriptors, and warning labels on risk perceptions in the U.S.. American Journal of Preventive Medicine, 40: 674–682.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Baranoya, J. and Glantz, S.A. (2006) Cardiovascular effects of second-hand smoke help explain the benefits of smoke-free legislation on heart disease burden. Journal of Cardiovascular Nursing, 21: 457–462.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Baumgartner, F. and Jones, B. (1993) Agendas and Instability in American Politics. Chicago: University of Chicago Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Baumgartner, F. and Jones, B. (2009) Agenda and Instability in American Politics. Chicago: University of Chicago Press.

    Book  Google Scholar 

  • Baumgartner, F. and Jones, B. (2015) The Politics of Information. Chicago: University of Chicago Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Behm, I., Kabir, Z., Connolly, G.N. and Alpert, H.R. (2012) Increasing prevalence of smoke-free homes and decreasing rates of sudden infant death syndrome in the United States: An ecological association study. Tobacco Control, 21: 6–11.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Boushey, G. (2012) Punctuated equilibrium theory and the diffusion of innovations. Policy Studies Journal, 40: 127–146.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Brandt, A. (2007) The Cigarette Century: The Rise, Fall, and Deadly Persistence of the Product That Defined America. New York: Perseus Books Group.

    Google Scholar 

  • Cairney, P., Studlar, D. and Mamudu, H. (2012) Global Tobacco Control: Power, Policy. Palgrave Macmillan, London: Governance and Transfer.

    Book  Google Scholar 

  • Chaloupka, F.J., Cummings, K.M., Morley, C.P., and Horan, J.K. (2002) Tax, price and cigarette smoking: Evidence from the tobacco documents and implications for tobacco company marketing strategies. Tobacco Control, 11: i62–i72.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Chaloupka, F.J., Kostova, D. and Shang, C. (2013) Cigarette tax structure and cigarette prices: Evidence from the global adult tobacco survey and U.S. national adult tobacco survey. Nicotine & Tobacco Research, Epub Before Print.

  • Chaloupka, F.J., Straif, K. and Leon, M. (2010) Effectiveness of tax and price policies in tobacco control. Tobacco Control, 20: 235–238.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Cheng, K.W., Glantz, S.A. and Lightwood, J.M. (2011) Association between smokefree laws and voluntary smokefree-home rules. American Journal of Preventive Medicine, 41: 566–572.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Cheng, K.W., Okechukwu, C.A., Mcmillen, R. and Glantz, S.A. (2013) Association between clean indoor air laws and voluntary smokefree rules in homes and cars. Tobacco Control. doi:10.1136/tobaccocontrol-2013-051121.

    Google Scholar 

  • Derthick, M. (2001) Keeping the Compound Republic: Essays on American Federalism. Washington: D.C., Brookings Institution Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Difranza, J.R. and Dussault, G.F. (2005) The federal initiative to halt the sale of tobacco in children–the Synar amendment, 1992–2000: lessons learned. Tobacco Control, 14: 93–98.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Downs, A. (1972) Up and down with ecology: The “Issue-Attention Cycle”. The Public Interest, 28: 38–50.

    Google Scholar 

  • Eldredge, N. (1989a) Macro-Evolutionary Processes: Species, Niches, and Adaptive Peaks. New York: McGraw-Hill.

    Google Scholar 

  • Eldredge, N. (1989b) Punctuated equilibria, rates of change, and large-scale entities in evolutionary systems. In A. S. Peterson (Ed.), The Dynamics of Evolution. Ithaca: Cornell University Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Eldredge, N. and Gould, S. (1972) Punctuated Equilibria: An Alternative to Phyletic Gradualism. San Francisco: Cooper and Co.

    Google Scholar 

  • Epp, D. and Baumgartner, F. (2016) Complexity, capacity, and budget punctuations. Policy Studies Journal.

  • Family Smoking and Prevention Act. (2009).

  • FDA Announces First Decisions on New Tobacco Products Through the Substantial Equivalence Pathway.

  • Givel, M. (2006) Punctuated equilibrium in Limbo: The tobacco lobby and U.S. state tobacco policymaking from 1990 to 2003. Policy Studies Journal, 34: 405–418.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Givel, M. (2007) A comparison of the impact of U.S. and Canadian cigarette pack warning label requirements on tobacco industry profitability and the public health. Health Policy, 82: 343–352.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Givel, M. (2008) Assessing material and symbolic variations in punctuated equilibrium and public policy output patterns. Review of Policy Research, 25: 547–561.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Givel, M. (2010a) The evolution of the theoretical foundations of punctuated equilibrium theory in public policy. Review of Policy Research, 27: 187–198.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Givel, M. (2010b) Unexplained and Anomalous Policy Output Patterns in Punctuated Equilibrium Theory: Challenging the Dominant paradigm and Building a Better Theory. Challenging Orthodoxies: The Critical Governance Studies Conference. University of Warwick, Coventry, UK.

  • Glantz, S. (2013a) FDA Process for Approving “Substantially Equivalent” Tobacco Products Keeps the Public in the Dark. Retrieved from http://www.tobacco.ucsf.edu/fda-process-approving-%E2%80%9Csubstantially-equivalent%E2%80%9D-tobacco-prducts-keeps-public-dark.

  • Glantz, S. (2013b) White House Held up Release of FDA Scientific Report on Menthol for a Year. Retrieved from http://www.tobacco.ucsf.edu/white-house-held-release-fda-scientific-report-menthol-year.

  • Gould, S. (1989) Punctuated equilibrium in fact and theory. In A. S. Peterson (Ed.), The Dynamics of Evolution. Ithaca: Cornell University Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Gould, S. (2002) The Structure of Evolutionary Theory. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Gould, S. and Eldredge, N. (1977) Punctuated equilibrium: The tempo and mode of evolution reconsidered. Paleobiology, 3: 115–151.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Grossmann, M. (2015) Information and politics in American policy trends: Review symposium for the politics of information. Interest Groups & Advocacy, 4: 302–306.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Hammond, D., Fong, G., Borland, R., Cummings, K., Mcneil, A. and Driezen, P. (2007) Text and graphic warnings on cigarette packages: Findings From the international tobacco control four country study. American Journal of Preventive Medicine, 32: 210–217.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Harris, J.K., Gereamkis, C., Moreland-Russell, S., Carothers, B.J., Kariuki, B., Shelton, S.C., et al. (2011) Demographic and geographic differences in exposure to secondhand smoke in Missouri workplaces, 2007–2008. Prevention of Chronic Diseases, 8: A135.

    Google Scholar 

  • Hopkins, D.P., Razi, S., Leeks, K.D., Kalra, G., Chattopadhyay, S.K., Soler, R.E., et al. (2010) Smokefree policies to reduce tobacco use: A systematic review. American Journal of Preventive Medicine, 38: S275–S289.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Howlett, M. (1997) Issue-attention and punctuated equilibria models reconsidered: An emperical examination of the dynamics of agenda-setting in Canada. Canadian Journal of Political Science, 30: 3–29.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • John, P. and Bevan, S. (2012) What are policy punctuations? Large changes in the legislative agenda of the UK Government, 1911–2008. Policy Studies Journal, 40: 89–107.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Johnson, L. (2010) Science & technology innovation as a complex adaptive system: Applying the natural processes of complexity to policymaking. Washington, D.C.: American Political Science Association.

    Google Scholar 

  • Johnston, L., O’Malley, P. and Terry-Mcelrath, Y. (2004). Methods, locations, and ease of cigarette access for American youth, 1997–2002. American Journal of Preventive Medicine, 27: 267–276.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Jones, S., Sharp, D., Husten, C. and Crossett, L. (2002) Cigarette acquisition and proof of age among U.S. high school students who smoke. Tobacco Control, 11: 20–25.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Kraemer, J.D. and Baig, S.A. (2013) Analysis of legal and scientific issues in court challenges to graphic warning labels. American Journal of Preventive Medicine, 45: 334–342.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Miller, J. and Page, S. (2007) Complex Adaptive Systems: An Introduction to Computational Models of Social Life. Princeton: Princeton University Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • National Cancer Institute. (2013) Tobacco Research. Retrieved from http://www.cancer.gov/cancertopics/tobacco/smoking/tobacco-research.

  • National Institute for Health. (2013) Funding Opportunities and Notices. Retrieved from http://grants.nih.gov/grants/guide/.

  • Pressman, J. and Wildavsky, A. (1983) Implementation. Berkeley: University of California Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Prindle, D. (2012) Importing concepts from biology into political science: The case of punctuated equilibrium. Policy Studies Journal, 40: 21–43.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Ragin, C. (2007) Comparative methods. In W. Outhwaite & S. Turner (Eds.), The SAGE Handbook of Social Science Methodology. London: SAGE Publications Ltd.

    Google Scholar 

  • Repetto, R. (2006) Introduction. In R. Repetto (Ed.), Punctuated Equilibrium and the Dynamics of U.S. Environmental Policy. New Haven: Yale University Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Robertson, D. (2012) Federalism and the Making of America. New York: Routledge.

    Google Scholar 

  • Schneider, S., Meyer, C., Yamamoto, S. and Solle, D. (2009). Implementation of electronic locking devices for adolescents at german tobacco vending machines: Intended and unintended changes of supply and demand. Tobacco Control, 18: 294–301.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Scott, K. (2011) Federalism: A Normative Theory and Its Practical Relevance. New York: The Continuum International Publishing Group.

    Google Scholar 

  • Studlar, D. (2001) Tobacco Control: Comparative Politics in the United States and Canada. Toronto: Broadview Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Studlar, D. (2010) What explains the paradox of tobacco control policy under federalism in the U.S. and Canada? Comparative federalism theory versus multi-level governance. Publius: The Journal of Federalism, 40: 389–411.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Tobacco Market Transition Act. (2003) 5 U.S.C. 3109 and 5315, 7 U.S.C. 1, 1281, 1445, 1445-1, 1445-2, 1932, 1935 and 2, 18 U.S.C. 202, and 19 U.S.C. 2342 and 2343.

  • United States Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. (2013) Smoking & Tobacco Use: Office of Smoking and Health. Retrieved from http://www.cdc.gov/tobacco/osh/organization/.

  • United States Federal Trade Commission. (2013) FTC Releases Reports on 2011 Cigarette and Smokeless Tobacco Advertising and Promotion. Retrieved from http://www.ftc.gov/opa/2013/05/tobacco.shtm.

  • United States Food and Drug Administration. (2013a) About the Center for Tobacco Products. Retrieved from http://www.fda.gov/AboutFDA/CentersOffices/OfficeofMedicalProductsandTobacco/AbouttheCenterforTobaccoProducts/default.htm.

  • United States Food and Drug Administration (2013b).

  • United States Food and Drug Administration. (2013c) Funding Opportunities. Retrieved from http://www.fda.gov/AboutFDA/CentersOffices/OfficeofMedicalProductsandTobacco/AbouttheCenterforTobaccoProducts/ucm292048.htm.

  • United States Surgeon General. (2013) Tobacco. Retrieved from http://www.surgeongeneral.gov/initiatives/tobacco/.

  • Wood, R. (2006) Tobacco’s tipping point: The master settlement agreement as a focusing event. Policy Studies Journal, 34: 419–436.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Wood, D. and Doan, A. (2003) The politics of problem definition: Applying and testing threshold models. American Journal of Political Science, 47: 640–653.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • World Health Organization. (2013) Only 100% Smoke-free Environments Adequately Protect from Dangers of Second-hand Smoke. Retrieved from http://www.who.int/mediacentre/news/releases/2007/pr26/en/.

  • Worsham, J. (2006) Up in smoke: Mapping subsystem dynamics in tobacco policy. Policy Studies Journal, 34: 437–452.

    Article  Google Scholar 

Download references

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Political Science, University of Oklahoma, Norman, OK, USA

    Michael Givel

Authors
  1. Michael Givel
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Michael Givel.

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Check for updates. Verify currency and authenticity via CrossMark

Cite this article

Givel, M. U.S. federal tobacco control policy from 1964 to 2013: Were punctuated and significant public health reforms enacted?. Soc Theory Health 15, 482–501 (2017). https://doi.org/10.1057/s41285-017-0039-0

Download citation

  • Published:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1057/s41285-017-0039-0

Keywords

Search

Navigation