The American Lung Association is fuming over what many states are spending tobacco settlement money on.
A report finds that most states spend only a fraction of what federal health officials have recommended on anti-tobacco programs at schools and counseling to help people quit smoking.
The association gives 32 states and the District of Columbia a failing grade for spending on anti-tobacco programs. Only six states earned an "A."
Forty-three states and the District of Columbia received an “F” in smokefree air laws; 17 received “Fs” in tobacco taxes, and 28 received an “F” in laws limiting youth access to tobacco.
Those grades help illustrate why smoking costs the United States approximately $150 billion each year in health-care costs and lost productivity.
Only four states—California, Maine, New York and Rhode Island—scored the highest achievement of two grades of "A."
Extended Web Coverage
State of Tobacco Control: 2002
Smokefree Air
- The American Lung Association advocates for the enactment and enforcement of measures to eliminate the exposure of children and adults to secondhand smoke, with emphasis on work sites.
- Areas of special concern include schools, day care centers, health care facilities, and publicly owned buildings and facilities.
- The ALS wants to establish a minimum standard that local governments can build upon to provide additional protection.
Youth Access
The American Lung Associated recommends you access laws that:
- Monitor tobacco retail outlets, with a graduated series of penalties to the retailer for sales of tobacco to minors, culminating in license suspension or revocation for repeated violations;
- Authorize state or local governments to carry out random, unannounced inspections of retail outlets, including authorization for minors’ participation in carrying out such inspections;
- Eliminate tobacco vending machines;
- Eliminate sales of single cigarettes or “loosies”;
- Require that all tobacco products be displayed only behind the sales counter; and
- Prohibit distribution of free tobacco product samples.
Tobacco Prevention and Control Spending
- The American Lung Association recommends allocating a significant portion of state settlement funds to effective tobacco prevention and education programs, and adopting the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) guidelines as the basis for building a comprehensive tobacco prevention and education program.
- The CDC’s Best Practices for Comprehensive Tobacco Control Programs guidelines recommend including the following nine programs in any comprehensive program:
- Community programs to reduce tobacco use chronic disease programs to reduce the burden of tobacco-related diseases
- School programs
- Enforcement
- Statewide programs include counter-marketing
- Cessation programs
- Surveillance
- Evaluation
- Administration
- Management
Cigarette Tax
The American Lung Association encourages the following
action:
- Enactment of significant increases in the excise tax on all tobacco products;
- Indexing tobacco taxes to ensure that tobacco taxes will, at a minimum, keep up with inflation; and
- Designating a portion of the tobacco tax revenue to cover tobacco education, prevention and cessation programs.
Grades by State:
Smokefree Air – F
Youth Access – F
Tobacco Prevention and Control Spending – F
Cigarette Taxes – F
Alaska
Smokefree Air – F
Youth Access – B
Tobacco Prevention and Control Spending – C
Cigarette Taxes – B
Arizona
Smokefree Air – F
Youth Access – C
Tobacco Prevention and Control Spending – D
Cigarette Taxes – B
Arkansas
Smokefree Air – F
Youth Access – D
Tobacco Prevention and Control Spending – A
Cigarette Taxes – D
California
Smokefree Air – A
Youth Access – A
Tobacco Prevention and Control Spending – D
Cigarette Taxes – C
Colorado
Smokefree Air – F
Youth Access – F
Tobacco Prevention and Control Spending – D
Cigarette Taxes – F
Connecticut
Smokefree Air – F
Youth Access – A
Tobacco Prevention and Control Spending – F
Cigarette Taxes – B
Delaware
Smokefree Air – A
Youth Access – F
Tobacco Prevention and Control Spending – D
Cigarette Taxes – F
Florida
Smokefree Air – I
Youth Access – D
Tobacco Prevention and Control Spending – F
Cigarette Taxes – D
Georgia
Smokefree Air – F
Youth Access – F
Tobacco Prevention and Control Spending – F
Cigarette Taxes – F
Hawaii
Smokefree Air – F
Youth Access – D
Tobacco Prevention and Control Spending – D
Cigarette Taxes – B
Idaho
Smokefree Air – F
Youth Access – B
Tobacco Prevention and Control Spending – F
Cigarette Taxes – F
Illinois
Smokefree Air – F
Youth Access – F
Tobacco Prevention and Control Spending – F
Cigarette Taxes – B
Indiana
Smokefree Air – F
Youth Access – F
Tobacco Prevention and Control Spending – A
Cigarette Taxes – D
Iowa
Smokefree Air – F
Youth Access – C
Tobacco Prevention and Control Spending – F
Cigarette Taxes – D
Kansas
Smokefree Air – F
Youth Access – F
Tobacco Prevention and Control Spending – F
Cigarette Taxes – C
Kentucky
Smokefree Air – F
Youth Access – F
Tobacco Prevention and Control Spending – F
Cigarette Taxes – F
Louisiana
Smokefree Air – F
Youth Access – F
Tobacco Prevention and Control Spending – F
Cigarette Taxes – D
Maine
Smokefree Air – C
Youth Access – A
Tobacco Prevention and Control Spending – A
Cigarette Taxes – B
Maryland
Smokefree Air – B
Youth Access – F
Tobacco Prevention and Control Spending – A
Cigarette Taxes – B
Massachusetts
Smokefree Air – F
Youth Access – C
Tobacco Prevention and Control Spending – F
Cigarette Taxes – A
Michigan
Smokefree Air – F
Youth Access – F
Tobacco Prevention and Control Spending – F
Cigarette Taxes – A
Minnesota
Smokefree Air – F
Youth Access – C
Tobacco Prevention and Control Spending – A
Cigarette Taxes – D
Mississippi
Smokefree Air – F
Youth Access – F
Tobacco Prevention and Control Spending – A
Cigarette Taxes – F
Missouri
Smokefree Air – F
Youth Access – C
Tobacco Prevention and Control Spending – F
Cigarette Taxes – F
Montana
Smokefree Air – F
Youth Access – F
Tobacco Prevention and Control Spending – F
Cigarette Taxes – F
Nebraska
Smokefree Air – F
Youth Access – F
Tobacco Prevention and Control Spending – F
Cigarette Taxes – C
Nevada
Smokefree Air – F
Youth Access – F
Tobacco Prevention and Control Spending – F
Cigarette Taxes – D
New Hampshire
Smokefree Air – F
Youth Access – C
Tobacco Prevention and Control Spending – F
Cigarette Taxes – D
New Jersey
Smokefree Air – F
Youth Access – F
Tobacco Prevention and Control Spending – D
Cigarette Taxes – A
New Mexico
Smokefree Air – F
Youth Access – F
Tobacco Prevention and Control Spending – F
Cigarette Taxes – F
New York
Smokefree Air – F
Youth Access – A
Tobacco Prevention and Control Spending – F
Cigarette Taxes – A
North Carolina
Smokefree Air – F
Youth Access – F
Tobacco Prevention and Control Spending – F
Cigarette Taxes – F
North Dakota
Smokefree Air – F
Youth Access – F
Tobacco Prevention and Control Spending – F
Cigarette Taxes – D
Ohio
Smokefree Air – F
Youth Access – F
Tobacco Prevention and Control Spending – F
Cigarette Taxes – D
Oklahoma
Smokefree Air – F
Youth Access – F
Tobacco Prevention and Control Spending – F
Cigarette Taxes – F
Oregon
Smokefree Air – D
Youth Access – D
Tobacco Prevention and Control Spending – F
Cigarette Taxes – A
Pennsylvania
Smokefree Air – F
Youth Access – D
Tobacco Prevention and Control Spending – B
Cigarette Taxes – B
Rhode Island
Smokefree Air – F
Youth Access – A
Tobacco Prevention and Control Spending – F
Cigarette Taxes – A
South Carolina
Smokefree Air – F
Youth Access – F
Tobacco Prevention and Control Spending – F
Cigarette Taxes – F
South Dakota
Smokefree Air – F
Youth Access – F
Tobacco Prevention and Control Spending – F
Cigarette Taxes – D
Tennessee
Smokefree Air – F
Youth Access – F
Tobacco Prevention and Control Spending – F
Cigarette Taxes – F
Texas
Smokefree Air – F
Youth Access – A
Tobacco Prevention and Control Spending – F
Cigarette Taxes – D
Utah
Smokefree Air – F
Youth Access – F
Tobacco Prevention and Control Spending – F
Cigarette Taxes – C
Vermont
Smokefree Air – B
Youth Access – A
Tobacco Prevention and Control Spending – B
Cigarette Taxes – B
Virginia
Smokefree Air – F
Youth Access – D
Tobacco Prevention and Control Spending – D
Cigarette Taxes – F
Washington
Smokefree Air – F
Youth Access – C
Tobacco Prevention and Control Spending – B
Cigarette Taxes – A
West Virginia
Smokefree Air – F
Youth Access – F
Tobacco Prevention and Control Spending – F
Cigarette Taxes – F
Wisconsin
Smokefree Air – F
Youth Access – F
Tobacco Prevention and Control Spending – F
Cigarette Taxes – C
Wyoming
Smokefree Air – F
Youth Access – F
Tobacco Prevention and Control Spending – D
Cigarette Taxes – F
Source: http://www.lungusa.org/ (The American Lung Association Web site) contributed to this report
