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

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Dec 06, 2012, 09:00 ET

Health Advocates Call on State to Pass Comprehensive Smoke-free Law

WASHINGTON, Dec. 6, 2012 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- Kentucky ranks 37th 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.

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Kentucky currently spends $2.1 million a year on tobacco prevention and cessation programs, which is 3.7 percent of the $57.2 million recommended by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). Other key findings for Kentucky include:

Kentucky this year will collect $381 million in revenue from the 1998 tobacco settlement and tobacco taxes, but will spend just 0.6 percent of it on tobacco prevention programs. This means Kentucky is spending less than a penny of every dollar in tobacco revenue to fight tobacco use.
The tobacco companies spend $248.9 million a year to market their products in Kentucky. This is 117 times what the state spends on tobacco prevention.

The annual report on states' funding of tobacco prevention programs, titled "Broken Promises to Our Children: The 1998 State Tobacco Settlement 14 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.

Kentucky has the highest smoking rates in the country, with 29 percent of adults and 24.1 percent of high school students currently smoking. Kentucky also lacks a comprehensive, statewide smoke-free workplace law and has the 40^th lowest cigarette tax in the country at 60 cents per pack, compared to a state average of $1.48 per pack. Health and business leaders say Kentucky's high smoking rate and smoke-filled workplaces are hurting the state's health and economy, costing the state $1.5 billion a year in health care bills and making it harder to attract new businesses.

To reduce smoking and exposure to secondhand smoke, health advocates are calling on Kentucky leaders to pass a comprehensive, statewide smoke-free law and a significant increase in the cigarette tax. Kentucky's tax reform commission recently recommended a 40-cent cigarette tax increase, but a $1 per pack increase would produce more health benefits and new revenue.

"Kentucky leaders this year can make truly historic progress in reducing tobacco's health and economic toll by passing a comprehensive, statewide smoke-free law and significantly increasing the cigarette tax," said Matthew L. Myers, President of the Campaign Tobacco-Free Kids. "The evidence is clear that reducing tobacco use not only saves lives, it also saves money by reducing tobacco-related health care costs. It's one of the smartest investments Kentucky can make."

In Kentucky, 6,100 more kids become regular smokers each year. Tobacco annually claims 7,800 lives and costs the state $1.5 billion in health care bills.

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

The states this year will collect $25.7 billion from the tobacco settlement and tobacco taxes, but will spend just 1.8 percent of it – $459.5 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 12.4 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.

As the nation implements health care reform, the report warns that states are missing a golden opportunity to reduce tobacco-related health care costs, which total $96 billion a year in the U.S. 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 leading preventable cause of death in the U.S., killing more than 400,000 people each year. Nationally, 19 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