National Report: Connecticut Again Tied for Last in Protecting Kids from Tobacco

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Dec 14, 2018, 09:00 ET

WASHINGTON, Dec. 14, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- For the third straight year, Connecticut has budgeted zero state funds for programs that prevent kids from smoking and help smokers quit and is tied for last nationwide in funding such programs, according to a report released today by leading public health organizations. Connecticut joins Tennessee and West Virginia as the only states that provide no state funding for tobacco prevention and cessation programs. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) recommends Connecticut spend $32 million on tobacco prevention programs.

The report challenges states to do more to fight tobacco use – the nation's No. 1 preventable cause of death – and to confront the growing epidemic of youth e-cigarette use in America. In Connecticut, 3.5 percent of high school students smoke cigarettes, while 14.7 percent use e-cigarettes. Tobacco use claims 4,900 Connecticut lives and costs the state over $2 billion in health care bills annually.

Other key findings include:

Connecticut will collect $500.8 million in revenue this year from the 1998 tobacco settlement and tobacco taxes, but will spend none of that money on tobacco prevention programs.
Tobacco companies spend $73 million each year to market their deadly and addictive products in Connecticut. Nationwide, tobacco companies spend $9.5 billion a year on marketing – that's over $1 million every hour.

The report – "Broken Promises to Our Children: A State-by-State Look at the 1998 Tobacco Settlement 20 Years Later" – was released by the Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids, American Cancer Society Cancer Action Network, American Heart Association, American Lung Association, the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, Americans for Nonsmokers' Rights and Truth Initiative. This year marks the 20^th anniversary of the landmark 1998 legal settlement between the states and the tobacco companies, which required the companies to pay more than $200 billion over time as compensation for tobacco-related health care costs.

Connecticut's high tobacco tax ($4.35) is helpful, but the state is hindering its own progress in reducing tobacco use further by refusing to fund its prevention programs. In addition to increasing funding for tobacco prevention, health advocates are urging Connecticut leaders to increase the state's tobacco age to 21; Hartford recently become the first Connecticut city to do so.

"Connecticut is putting kids' health at risk and burdening taxpayers with higher tobacco-related health care costs by continuing to shortchange tobacco prevention programs," said Matthew L. Myers, President of the Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids. "Connecticut leaders cannot let their guard down as tobacco is still the No. 1 cause of preventable death and e-cigarettes threaten to addict another generation. To help win this fight and make the next generation tobacco-free, Connecticut should invest in tobacco prevention programs and increase the tobacco age to 21."

Nationwide, the U.S. has reduced smoking to record lows – 14 percent among adults and 7.6 percent among high school students. But tobacco use still kills more than 480,000 Americans and costs the nation about $170 billion in health care expenses each year. Today's report highlights the need to address large disparities in who still smokes, with smoking rates highest among people with lower income and less education, residents of the Midwest and South, American Indians/Alaska Natives, LGBT Americans, those who are uninsured or on Medicaid, and those with mental illness.

The report also highlights the youth e-cigarette epidemic. Driven by the popularity of Juul, a sleek, easy-to-hide e-cigarette that is sold in sweet flavors and delivers a powerful dose of nicotine, e-cigarette use among U.S. high school students skyrocketed by 78 percent this year to 20.8 percent. In 2018, more than 3.6 million middle and high school students were current e-cigarette users – an alarming increase of 1.5 million in just one year.

By funding tobacco prevention and cessation programs at the CDC's recommended levels, states can reduce tobacco use among all Americans. But most states are falling far short:

The states will collect $27.3 billion this year from the tobacco settlement and tobacco taxes but will spend only 2.4 percent of it ($655 million) on tobacco prevention programs.
The $655 million that the states have budgeted for tobacco prevention is a small fraction of the $3.3 billion the CDC recommends. Not a single state funds tobacco prevention programs at CDC-recommended levels, and only two states – Alaska and California – provide even 70 percent of the recommended funding.
States with well-funded, sustained tobacco prevention programs have seen remarkable progress. Florida, with one of the longest-running programs, has reduced its high school smoking rate to 3.6 percent, one of the lowest rates ever reported by any state.

The report and state-specific information can be found at tfk.org/statereport.

SOURCE Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids