National Report: Delaware Ranks 3rd in Protecting Kids from Tobacco

News provided by

Dec 09, 2013, 09:00 ET

WASHINGTON, Dec. 9, 2013 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- Fifteen years after the 1998 state tobacco settlement, Delaware ranks 3rd in the nation in funding programs to prevent kids from smoking and help smokers quit, according to a national report released today by a coalition of public health organizations.

(Logo: http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20080918/CFTFKLOGO )

Delaware currently spends $8.3 million a year on tobacco prevention and cessation programs, which is 59.9 percent of the $13.9 million recommended by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). Other key findings for Delaware include:

Delaware this year will collect $144.2 million in revenue from the 1998 tobacco settlement and tobacco taxes, but will spend just 5.8 percent of it on tobacco prevention programs. This means Delaware is spending less than 6 cents of every dollar in tobacco revenue to fight tobacco use.
The tobacco companies spend $47.4 million a year to market their products in Delaware. This is 6 times what the state spends on tobacco prevention.

The annual report on states' funding of tobacco prevention programs, titled "A Broken Promise to Our Children: The 1998 State Tobacco Settlement 15 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 have 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 more each year from tobacco taxes.

Delaware consistently has had one of the best-funded tobacco prevention programs and also has implemented other proven strategies to reduce smoking, including a comprehensive smoke-free law and tobacco tax increases. As a result, the state has reduced high school smoking by 43 percent since 1999, down to 18.3 percent in 2011. However, Delaware this year cut funding for tobacco prevention by 8 percent.

"Delaware continues to be a leader in the fight against tobacco and again is one of the top states when it comes to preventing kids from smoking and helping smokers quit," said Matthew L. Myers, President of the Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids. "To continue reducing tobacco use, it is critical that Delaware's leaders build on this commitment and increase funding to the CDC's recommended amount. Tobacco prevention is a smart investment that saves lives and saves money by reducing tobacco-related health care costs."

In Delaware, 18.3 percent of high school students smoke, and 700 more kids become regular smokers each year. Tobacco annually claims 1,100 lives and costs the state $284 million in health care bills.

Nationally, the report finds that most states are failing to adequately fund tobacco prevention and cessation programs. Key national findings of the report include:

The states this year will collect $25 billion from the tobacco settlement and tobacco taxes, but will spend just 1.9 percent of it – $481.2 million – on tobacco prevention programs. This means the states are spending less than two cents of every dollar in tobacco revenue to fight tobacco use.
States are falling woefully short of the CDC's recommended funding levels for tobacco prevention programs. Altogether, the states have budgeted just 13 percent of the $3.7 billion the CDC recommends.
Only two states – Alaska and North Dakota – currently fund tobacco prevention programs at the CDC-recommended level.

There is more evidence than ever before that tobacco prevention and cessation programs work to reduce smoking, save lives and save money. Florida, which has a well-funded, sustained tobacco prevention program, reduced its high school smoking rate to just 8.6 percent in 2013, far below the national rate. One study found that during the first 10 years of its tobacco prevention program, Washington state saved more than $5 in tobacco-related hospitalization costs for every $1 spent on the program.

Tobacco use is the number one cause of preventable death in the U.S., killing more than 400,000 people and costing $96 billion in health care bills each year. Nationally, about 18 percent of adults and 18.1 percent of high school students smoke.

More information, including the full report and state-specific information, can be obtained at www.tobaccofreekids.org/reports/settlements.

SOURCE Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids