New report: States slash tobacco prevention funding by 36% - spend less than 2 cents of every ...
Wednesday, November 30, 2011
Posted by: Natalia Gromov
FOR IMMEDIATE FOR RELEASE:
November 30, 2011
CONTACTS: Dan Cronin, Campaign for
Tobacco-Free Kids, 202-296-5469
Nicole Bender, American Cancer
Society Cancer Action Network, 202-661-5773
Retha
Sherrod, American Heart Association,
202-785-7929
Mary Havell,
American Lung Association, 202-715-3459
New Report: States Slash Funding for
Tobacco Prevention Programs by 36 Percent
States Spend Less
than Two Cents of Every Tobacco Dollar to Fight Tobacco
Use
WASHINGTON, DC (November
30, 2011) – States have slashed funding for programs to reduce tobacco use by 12
percent in the past year and by 36 percent over the past four years, threatening
the nation’s progress against tobacco, according to a report released today by a
coalition of public health organizations.
The states this year
(Fiscal Year 2012) will collect a near-record $25.6 billion in revenue from the
1998 state tobacco settlement and tobacco taxes, but will spend only 1.8 percent
of it – $456.7 million – on programs to prevent kids from smoking and help
smokers quit. This means the states are spending less than two cents of every
dollar in tobacco revenue to fight tobacco use.
Both the total amounts
states are spending on tobacco prevention programs and the percentage of tobacco
revenue spent on these programs are the lowest since 1999, when the states first
received significant tobacco settlement funds.
More information, including the full report and
state-specific information, can be obtained at www.tobaccofreekids.org/reports/settlements.
With nearly 20 percent of Americans still smoking, the
report warns that continued progress against tobacco use – the nation’s number
one cause of preventable death – is at risk unless states increase funding for
tobacco prevention and cessation programs. The report also calls on states to
increase tobacco taxes and, for states that have yet to do so, to enact strong
smoke-free laws that apply to all workplaces, restaurants and
bars.
The report further calls on the federal government to
launch a national tobacco prevention and cessation campaign, including a
mass-media campaign and support for telephone quitlines, as the Obama
Administration proposed in its Tobacco Control Strategic Action Plan. It also
calls for preservation of the Prevention and Public Health Fund, created by the
health care reform law to support such disease prevention
initiatives.
The report, titled "A Broken Promise to Our Children:
The 1998 State Tobacco Settlement 13 Years Later,” was released by the Campaign
for Tobacco-Free Kids, American Heart Association, American Cancer Society
Cancer Action Network, American Lung Association, Robert Wood Johnson Foundation
and Americans for Nonsmokers’ Rights. Issued annually, the report assesses
whether states have kept their promise to use tobacco settlement funds –
expected to total $246 billion over the first 25 years – to fight tobacco
use.
"More than ever, this report shows that the states have
squandered the opportunity presented by the tobacco settlement to significantly
reduce tobacco use and its devastating toll on our nation,” said Matthew L.
Myers, President of the Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids. "It’s no coincidence
that progress against tobacco has slowed at the same time that states have
slashed tobacco prevention funds. We cannot win the fight against tobacco
unless elected officials at all levels step up efforts to implement proven
solutions.”
Key
Findings
Other findings of this year's report
include:
·
Most states are falling far short of recommended funding
levels for tobacco prevention programs set by the U.S. Centers for Disease
Control and Prevention (CDC). The $456.7 million the states have budgeted is
just 12 percent of the $3.7 billion the CDC recommends for all the states
combined. It would take less than 15 percent of total state tobacco revenues to
fully fund tobacco prevention programs in every
state.
·
States have cut funding for tobacco prevention and
cessation programs by $61.2 million (12 percent) in the past year and by $260.5
million (36 percent) in the past four years.
·
Counting both state funds and federal grants, only
Alaska and North Dakota currently fund tobacco prevention programs at
CDC-recommended levels. Only four other states provide even half the
recommended funding, while 33 states and Washington, DC, provide less than a
quarter. Four states – Connecticut, Nevada, New Hampshire and Ohio – and DC
have budgeted zero state funds for tobacco prevention this
year.
·
Tobacco companies spend $23 to market tobacco products
for every $1 the states spend to fight tobacco use. According to the latest data
from the Federal Trade Commission, tobacco companies spend $10.5 billion a year
on marketing.
·
Federal grants have helped to cushion the impact of
state funding cuts, but some of that funding is temporary and will run out this
year. In fiscal year 2012, the federal government is providing $91.2 million in
state and community grants to reduce tobacco use. States have also received
$196.4 million in stimulus funds for tobacco prevention, some of which will be
spent this year.
The report comes as recent surveys have found that
smoking declines in the United States have slowed. The CDC recently reported
that the adult smoking rate in 2010 was 19.3 percent – only
a small decline since 2004 when 20.9 percent smoked. While smoking among high
school students has declined by 46 percent from a high of 36.4 percent in 1997,
19.5 percent still smoke.
Sponsor
Quotes
"It is truly penny-wise and pound-foolish for the states
to cut funding for tobacco prevention and cessation programs,” said Nancy Brown,
CEO of the American Heart Association. "These programs not only reduce smoking,
but also lower tobacco-related health care costs that total nearly $100 billion
annually. Tobacco prevention programs are smart investments that save lives and
money.”
"Tobacco prevention and cessation programs are a great
example that when we invest in prevention and public health, we save lives,
improve health and reduce health care costs. For example, we know that
smoke-free workplaces and funding programs to help smokers quit are a win for
business, worker productivity and a healthier community,” said Risa
Lavizzo-Mourey, M.D., M.B.A., President and CEO of the Robert Wood Johnson
Foundation.
"We know that the most effective way to curb the tobacco
epidemic in this country is through regularly and significantly increasing
tobacco taxes, enacting comprehensive smoke-free laws and fully funding tobacco
prevention and cessation programs,” said John R. Seffrin, PhD, chief executive
officer, American Cancer Society Cancer Action Network, the advocacy affiliate
of the American Cancer Society. "States are putting lives at risk and leaving
potential state revenue on the table when they fall short of implementing strong
tobacco control policies.”
"The continued devastating cuts in tobacco prevention
spending in 2011 are unfortunately part of a broader pattern of states
backsliding on putting in place policies and making investments to fight tobacco
use,” said American Lung Association President and CEO Charles D. Connor.
"States are missing a key opportunity to save lives and
money.”
"Comprehensive tobacco
control programs not only reduce smoking, but they also prevent a new generation
of young smokers and lead to policies that protect workers from exposure to
secondhand smoke in public places and workplaces," said Cynthia Hallett, MPH,
Executive Director of Americans for Nonsmokers' Rights. "It is a tragedy that
less that 2 percent of tobacco revenue goes to evidence-based tobacco prevention
programs. States should be advocating for public health and not toeing the line
for the tobacco industry."
Tobacco use kills more than
400,000 people in the United States each year and costs the nation $96 billion
in health care bills. Every day, another 1,000 kids become regular smokers –
one-third of them will die prematurely as a result.
(NOTE: Alabama’s tobacco prevention
program budget for FY2012 was not available when this report went to press.
Alabama historically has provided minimal funding for tobacco prevention. In FY
2011, Alabama budgeted $860,000, which is just 1.5 percent of the CDC’s
recommendation.)
Source: Vince Willmore, Vice President,
Communications, Campaign for Tobacco-Free
Kids
|