National Report: California Ranks 21st in Protecting Kids from Tobacco

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Dec 14, 2016, 09:00 ET

WASHINGTON, Dec. 14, 2016 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- California ranks 21st 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. California is spending $75.7 million this year on tobacco prevention and cessation programs, which is just 21.8 percent of the $347.9 million recommended by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).

California is obligated to increase its funding of tobacco prevention and cessation programs next year under a ballot initiative, Proposition 56, overwhelmingly approved by voters in November. Prop 56 increased the state cigarette tax by $2 per pack and boosted funding for California's tobacco prevention and cessation programs.

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 California, 7.7 percent of high school students still smoke, and 12,100 kids become regular smokers each year. Tobacco use claims 40,000 California lives and costs the state $13.3 billion in health care bills annually.

Other key findings in the report include:

California will collect more than $1.8 billion in revenue this year from the 1998 state tobacco settlement and tobacco taxes, but will spend only 4 percent of the money on tobacco prevention programs.
Tobacco companies spend $592 million each year to market their deadly and addictive products in California – nearly 8 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.

California, long a leader in the fight against tobacco, fell behind in recent years in implementing proven strategies to reduce tobacco use. But California became a national leader again this year by approving Prop 56 to raise the tobacco tax and increase funding for tobacco prevention and cessation programs. In addition, a state law approved this year increased the tobacco sale age to 21 and took other steps to further reduce tobacco use.

"The strong steps California has taken this year once again but it at the forefront of the nation's efforts to win the fight against tobacco and make the next generation tobacco-free," said Matthew L. Myers, President of the Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids. "To keep making progress, California must effectively implement Prop 56 by increasing and sustaining funding for tobacco prevention and cessation programs."

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.