States' efforts to combat tobacco get low grades
Posted on Tuesday, January 13, 2009
Arkansas received two F's, a B and a D on a national report card examining state and federal laws intended to prevent and reduce tobacco use.
The American Lung Association releases its seventh annual State of Tobacco Control report today.
The association hopes this year's report will push federal and state officials to take action, Charles D. Conner, its president and chief executive officer, said in a national teleconference Monday.
"This month a new administration comes to Washington, and the nation's health and health-care costs are high on their agenda," Conner said. "Tobacco should be high on their agenda as well."
More than 392,000 Americans die each year from diseases related to tobacco use. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in Atlanta estimate that tobacco use cost the country $193 billion in 2004.
"Passing strong tobacco-control policies is one of the most effective ways to improve our nation's health and reduce the crushing burden tobacco places on the nation's economy," Conner said.
States across the nation fared poorly in the report.
They were graded on the strength of laws to reduce smoking in public places, cigarette taxes, funding for tobacco prevention and programs to help people quit smoking. Also graded was whether state employees and Medicaid recipients are covered if they seek medical help to quit smoking.
"Despite some tremendous progress in a handful of states, far too many lag behind in enacting meaningful policy changes," said Paul Billings, the American Lung Association's vice president of national policy and advocacy.
Even some states with the best grades - Hawaii, Massachusetts and Rhode Island - got at least one F.
Alabama, Kentucky, Missouri, North Carolina, South Carolina, Virginia and West Virginia got all F's.
Arkansas got an F for its fiscal 2009 budget of $16.9 million for tobacco-control program funding. The CDC recommends states spend at least $36.4 million on such programs.
It was the first time the category was included in the annual report, and 41 states and Washington, D.C., failed.
Arkansas' highest grade was a B for banning smoking in most workplaces with the Arkansas Clean Indoor Air Act, which took effect in July 2006.
The state's employee health insurance and Medicaid's limited coverage of medication, counseling and other services to help people quit smoking earned the state a D in the cessation coverage category.
Arkansas' 59-cent-per-pack cigarette tax also earned the state an F. The national average is $1.19 per pack. New York has the highest state cigarette excise tax at $2.75 per pack, while South Carolina has the lowest at 7 cents per pack.
Gov. Mike Beebe; House Speaker Robbie Wills, D-Conway; and Senate President Pro Tempore Bob Johnson, D-Bigelow, have all said they would support a 50-cent increase in the state's cigarette tax to help pay for a statewide trauma system.
About 22 percent of adults and 21 percent of high school students in Arkansas smoke, according to the CDC. Some 4,915 Arkansans die each year from smoking-related diseases, according to the report.
Ann Wright, spokesman for the Arkansas Department of Health, said Monday that department officials couldn't comment on specifics of the report, which wasn't released to the public until today.
Dr. Carolyn Dresler, branch chief for the Health Department's Tobacco Prevention and Cessation Program, said the state has done a lot to reduce smoking.
The Stamp Out Smoking program offers a 24-hour hot line where people can get help to stop smoking. The state Medicaid program also covers medications and individual and group counseling for people wanting to quit.
There are also educational programs in schools to stop kids from smoking. But there's always more to be done, she said.
"We're not reaching everybody in the state," Dresler said.
The federal government was given three F's and one D. The report said it failed because of Congress' failure to pass a bill that would give the U.S. Food and Drug Administration authority to regulate tobacco products, and its failure to participate in a World Health Organization treaty to reduce smoking around the globe. The treaty has been signed by 161 countries, Billings said.
The report also criticized the federal government for failing to require state Medicaid programs to pay for programs and medication to help people beat tobacco addictions. Studies show people on Medicaid smoke at a 60 percent higher rate than the national average.
The federal excise tax of 39 cents per pack also earned an F.
The report can be found at
www.stateoftobaccocontrol. org.
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