National Report: Maryland Ranks 34th in Protecting Kids from Tobacco

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Dec 06, 2012, 09:00 ET

WASHINGTON, Dec. 6, 2012 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- Maryland ranks 34th 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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Maryland currently spends $4.2 million a year on tobacco prevention and cessation programs, which is 6.6 percent of the $63.3 million recommended by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). Other key findings for Maryland include:

Maryland this year will collect $555 million in revenue from the 1998 tobacco settlement and tobacco taxes, but will spend just 0.7 percent of it on tobacco prevention programs. This means Maryland is spending less than a penny of every dollar in tobacco revenue to fight tobacco use.
Since 2009, Maryland has cut funding for tobacco prevention by 79 percent, from $19.6 million to $4.2 million.
The tobacco companies spend $110.3 million a year to market their products in Maryland. This is 27 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.

Maryland has been a leader in the fight against tobacco with a cigarette tax of $2 per pack, a strong smoke-free workplace law and its tobacco prevention and cessation program. However, the huge cut in funding for tobacco prevention has put the state's progress at risk. To continue making progress, health advocates are urging Maryland leaders to raise the cigarette tax by $1 per pack and increase funding for tobacco prevention.

"Maryland has made significant progress in the fight against tobacco, but the recent cuts to its tobacco prevention program threaten to undermine these gains," said Matthew L. Myers, President of the Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids. "To continue reducing tobacco use, it is critical that Maryland raise the cigarette tax by $1 and increase funding for tobacco prevention. Even in these difficult budget times, tobacco prevention is a smart investment for Maryland that saves lives and saves money by reducing tobacco-related health care costs."

In Maryland, 12.5 percent of high school students smoke, and 6,200 more kids become regular smokers each year. Tobacco annually claims 6,800 lives and costs the state nearly $2 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