National Report: Kentucky Ranks 37th in Protecting Kids from Tobacco

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Dec 14, 2016, 09:00 ET

WASHINGTON, Dec. 14, 2016 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- Kentucky ranks 37th nationwide in funding programs to prevent kids from smoking and help smokers quit, according to a report released today by a coalition of public health organizations. Kentucky is spending $2.4 million this year on tobacco prevention and cessation programs, which is just 4.2 percent of the $56.4 million recommended by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).

The report challenges states to do more to fight tobacco use – the nation's No. 1 cause of preventable death – and help make the next generation tobacco-free. In Kentucky, 16.9 percent of high school students still smoke, and 3,200 kids become regular smokers each year. Tobacco use claims 8,900 Kentucky lives and costs the state $1.9 billion in health care bills annually.

Other key findings in the report include:

Kentucky will collect $361 million in revenue this year from the 1998 state tobacco settlement and tobacco taxes, but will spend only 0.7 percent of the money on tobacco prevention programs.
Tobacco companies spend $266 million each year to market their deadly and addictive products in Kentucky – 113 times what the state spends on tobacco prevention. Nationwide, tobacco companies spend $9.1 billion a year on marketing – more than $1 million every hour.

Today's report, titled "Broken Promises to Our Children: A State-by-State Look at the 1998 State Tobacco Settlement 18 Years Later," was released by the Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids, American Heart Association, American Cancer Society Cancer Action Network, American Lung Association, the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, Americans for Nonsmokers' Rights and Truth Initiative.

The report spotlights the need for stronger tobacco prevention efforts in Kentucky. Kentucky has among the highest smoking rates in the country, with 25.9 percent of adults and 16.9 percent of high school students currently smoking. Kentucky lacks a comprehensive, statewide smoke-free workplace law, has poorly funded tobacco prevention programs and has one of the lowest cigarette tax rates in the country at 60 cents per pack.

"Kentucky is putting children's health at risk and costing taxpayers money by failing to fund tobacco prevention or take other strong actions that save lives and health care dollars," said Matthew L. Myers, President of the Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids. "Because of the tremendous progress our country has made in reducing smoking, it is within our reach to win the fight against tobacco and make the next generation tobacco-free. Kentucky should be doing more to protect kids from tobacco and help smokers quit, including raising the cigarette tax by at least $1 a pack and ensuring that all Kentuckians have full insurance coverage for tobacco cessation treatments."

Nationwide, the U.S. has cut smoking rates to record lows – 15.1 percent among adults and 10.8 percent among high school students in 2015. If recent progress in reducing adult smoking continues, the U.S. could eliminate smoking by around 2035, according to a recent analysis in The New England Journal of Medicine.

By funding tobacco prevention and cessation programs at the CDC's recommended levels, the states can help achieve this goal. But today's report finds most states are falling far short:

The states will collect $26.6 billion this year from the tobacco settlement and tobacco taxes, but will spend less than 2 percent of it ($491.6 million) on tobacco prevention programs.
The $491.6 million that the states have budgeted for tobacco prevention is a small fraction of the $3.3 billion the CDC recommends. Only two states – North Dakota and Alaska – fund tobacco prevention programs at CDC-recommended levels.
States with well-funded, sustained tobacco prevention programs have seen remarkable progress. Florida, with one of the longest-running programs, reduced its high school smoking rate to 5.2 percent this year, one of the lowest rates ever reported by any state. One study found that during the first 10 years of its tobacco prevention program, the state of Washington saved more than $5 in health care costs for every $1 spent on the program.