The Burrill Report


All but five states have flunked on a national report card  evaluating their progress on protecting citizens from illnesses caused by tobacco. The report, from the American Lung Association blasted states for their failure to adequately fund programs to prevent people from starting to smoke or get them to quit.

“Despite collecting millions of dollars—and in some cases billions—in tobacco settlement dollars and excise taxes, most states are investing only pennies on the dollar to help smokers quit,” says Charles Connor, president and CEO the association.

The group gave higher marks to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, praising the agency for taking action in 2010 to implement the Family Smoking Prevention and Tobacco Control Act. The 2009 legislation gave the FDA new power to stop tobacco marketing and sales to kids, to end misleading cigarette labels, and to require larger health warnings on smokeless tobacco products.

The group also praised the passage of 2010’s Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, which requires for the first time that the majority of private health plans offer tobacco cessation treatments.

The report graded state efforts in four key areas: spending on tobacco prevention and control, smoke-free air laws, state cigarette excise tax, and coverage of tobacco cessation treatments and services. Tobacco prevention and smoking cessation emerged as cornerstones in the federal government’s prevention and wellness initiatives, according to the report.

“Sadly, most of our states are failing miserably when it comes to combating tobacco-caused disease,” says Conner.

Arkansas, Maine, Montana, Oklahoma and Vermont were the only states to receive passing grades in the lung association’s evaluation.

Smoking is the top preventable cause of death in the United States, killing more than 393,000 every year, according to the lung association. It causes numerous diseases, including lung cancer and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease.



January 21, 2011
http://www.burrillreport.com/article-states_failing_to_curb_smoking_related_illness.html