National Report: Alaska Ranks 2nd in Protecting Kids from Tobacco

States Challenged to Join Florida in Reducing Youth Smoking to Record Low

News provided by

Dec 11, 2014, 01:00 ET

WASHINGTON, Dec. 11, 2014 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- Alaska ranks 2nd in the country in funding programs that prevent kids from smoking and help smokers quit, according to a national report released today by a coalition of public health organizations. Alaska is one of only two states, along with North Dakota, that currently fund tobacco prevention programs at CDC-recommended levels.

The report challenges states to do more by shining the spotlight on Florida, which has cut its high school smoking rate to a record low 7.5 percent. The report details the lives and health care dollars each state could save if it brought its teen smoking rate down to Florida's.

If Alaska reduced its high school smoking rate from the current 10.6 percent to 7.5 percent, it would prevent 9,940 kids from becoming adult smokers, saving 3,500 lives and $174 million in future health care costs. Today in Alaska, tobacco annually claims 600 lives and costs the state $438 million in health care bills.

Other key findings for Alaska include:

Counting both state funding and a federal grant, Alaska will spend $11 million this year on tobacco prevention and cessation programs, which meets the recommended funding level set by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).
Alaska will collect $98.1 million this year from the 1998 tobacco settlement and tobacco taxes and will spend 9.9 percent of the money on tobacco prevention programs.
Tobacco companies spend $18.5 million per year to market their products in Alaska – twice what the state spends on tobacco prevention.

Today's report, titled "Broken Promises to Our Children: A State-by-State Look at the 1998 State Tobacco Settlement 16 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 and Americans for Nonsmokers' Rights.

The report assesses whether the states kept their promise to use a significant portion of their settlement funds – estimated to total $246 billion over the first 25 years – to fight tobacco use. The states also collect billions of dollars more each year from tobacco taxes.

Alaska has consistently ranked high in funding tobacco prevention programs. As a result, Alaska has cut the state's high school smoking rate by 40 percent since 2007, to just 10.6 percent.

"Alaska is setting an example for the nation with its strong and sustained commitment to fighting tobacco use," said Matthew L. Myers, President of the Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids. "Alaska's progress shows that it is within our reach to create a tobacco-free generation. To keep making progress, Alaska's leaders must maintain their commitment to tobacco prevention and also pass a statewide smoke-free law that applies to all workplaces, restaurants and bars."

Nationally, the report finds that:

Most states fail to adequately fund tobacco prevention and cessation programs. The states will collect $25.6 billion this year from the tobacco settlement and tobacco taxes but will spend only 1.9 percent of it ($490.4 million) on tobacco prevention programs.
States are falling woefully short of the CDC's recommended funding levels for tobacco prevention programs. Altogether, the states budgeted just 14.8 percent of the $3.3 billion the CDC recommends. Only two states – Alaska and North Dakota – are funding tobacco prevention programs at CDC-recommended levels.

Evidence shows tobacco prevention and cessation programs work to reduce smoking, save lives and save money. One study found that during the first 10 years of its tobacco prevention program, the state of Washington saved more than $5 in tobacco-related hospitalization costs for every $1 spent on the program.

Tobacco use is the No. 1 cause of preventable death in the United States, killing more than 480,000 people and costing the nation at least $289 billion in health care bills and lost productivity each year.

The full report and state-specific information can be found at www.tobaccofreekids.org/statereport.

Logo - http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20080918/CFTFKLOGO

To view the original version on PR Newswire, visit:http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/national-report-alaska-ranks-2nd-in-protecting-kids-from-tobacco-300008387.html

SOURCE Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids