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APHA Scientific Session and Event Listing

Recorded presentation

Erik C. Crankshaw, MPH¹, Robert H. Beach, PhD², William D. Austin, MS; MPH¹, David A. Weitzenkamp, PhD³, David G. Altman, PhD⁴, and Alison Snow Jones, PhD⁵. (1) Center for Health Promotion Research, RTI International, 3040 Cornwallis Road, PO Box 12194, Research Triangle Park, NC 27709-2194, 919-316-3809, ecrankshaw@rti.org, (2) Food and Agricultural Policy Research Program, RTI International, 3040 Cornwallis Road, PO Box 12194, Research Triangle Park, NC 27709-2194, (3) Statistics & Epidemiology, RTI International, 3040 Cornwallis Road, PO Box 12194, Research Triangle Park, NC 27709-2194, (4) Center for Creative Leadership, One Leadership Place, P.O. Box 26300, Greensboro, NC 27438-6300, (5) Department of Social Science & Health Policy, Wake Forest University School of Medicine, Medical Center Blvd, Winston-Salem, NC 27157

Background: A longitudinal survey of tobacco farmers in North Carolina was implemented in 1997 and tracked tobacco farmer attitudes and practices through 2005. This survey provides some of the first (and only) data on tobacco farmers, a population that has traditionally partnered with tobacco companies and lobbyists in opposing tobacco control efforts. Objectives: The purpose of this study is to describe longitudinal patterns in tobacco farmer attitudes toward tobacco control and to examine the relationships between attitudes toward tobacco control and economic dependence on tobacco and demographic factors. Methods: Tobacco farmers were surveyed at five times between 1997 and 2005 (baseline N=1,236). We use ordered multinomial choice models to examine associations between tobacco control attitudes and economic dependence on tobacco and employ mixed effects models to control for within-farmer correlation in models based on longitudinal data. Preliminary Results: As expected, tobacco farmers perceive significant risk to their livelihoods from tobacco control efforts. However, perceived risk appears to have decreased significantly since 1999. Furthermore, attitudes toward tobacco control policies appear to be significantly correlated with the degree to which tobacco farmers depend on tobacco for income. Conclusions: Efforts to support tobacco farmer crop diversification and assist with the transition away from tobacco farming has the potential to reduce opposition to tobacco control policies by this politically important group.

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