Cigarette smoking has steadily declined in Arizona during the past decade, and a new federal study has found something bigger to celebrate: The state last year recorded its largest one-year reduction ever -- nearly 20 percent -- with an estimated 170,000 adults breaking the habit.

The annual study of the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention showed that the percentage of active smokers in Arizona, defined as people who smoke some days or every day, dropped from 19.8 percent in 2007 to 15.9 percent in 2008. That puts our state well below the national average in 2008 of 18.3 percent, and it moves Arizona from having the nation's 25th-lowest smoking rate to seventh-lowest. Everyday smokers in the state fell from 13.6 percent to 10.7 percent.

Several factors account for this impressive progress. They include higher cigarette taxes, which have boosted the price of a premium pack to nearly $8, and passage of the Smoke Free Arizona law, which took effect in May 2007 and bans smoking in bars, restaurants and most other public places.

My Office has worked aggressively to enforce state laws which prohibit the sale of tobacco products to minors. Since 2002, we have conducted over 18,000 inspections throughout Arizona, using young volunteers who work undercover with our agents and local police, to identify retailers who sell cigarettes illegally to minors.

In a joint effort with other state attorneys general, my Office has entered into agreements with twelve national tobacco retailers. Under these agreements, the retailers have agreed to adopt corporate policies aimed at reducing sales of tobacco to children. National statistics confirm that people who start smoking as teenagers are far more likely to become long-term smokers.

The drop in smoking also reflects the ongoing success of a landmark settlement 11 years ago among attorneys general of 46 states, including Arizona, and the nation's largest tobacco companies. The Master Settlement Agreement (MSA) ranks as the largest civil settlement in U.S. history. Total payments to the states over 25 years are projected to exceed $206 billion nationally. Arizona alone has received some $800 million since the settlement was signed in 1998.

The payments are made to compensate for the costs of health care for persons with smoking-related illnesses. But the MSA also included significant provisions that limit the way cigarettes can be marketed, which in turn has spawned a cultural shift in societal attitudes toward smoking. Many of the provisions were intended to stop the companies from targeting minors with their advertising and promotions.

Last year's sharp decline in smoking in our state ranks as a remarkable public health achievement. I will continue to do all I can to maintain the anti-smoking momentum in Arizona.

Terry Goddard