National Report: Montana Ranks 12th in Protecting Kids from Tobacco

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Dec 14, 2018, 09:00 ET

WASHINGTON, Dec. 14, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- Montana ranks 12th nationwide in funding programs that prevent kids from using tobacco and help smokers quit, according to a report released today by leading public health groups. Montana is spending $5 million this year on tobacco prevention and cessation programs, which is just 34 percent of the $14.6 million recommended by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).

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 Montana, 12.1 percent of high school students smoke cigarettes, while 22.5 percent use e-cigarettes, one of the highest rates in the nation. Tobacco use claims 1,600 Montana lives and costs the state $440 million in health care bills annually.

Other key findings include:

Montana will collect $108.5 million in revenue this year from the 1998 tobacco settlement and tobacco taxes, but will spend only 4.6 percent of the money on tobacco prevention programs.
Tobacco companies spend $31.3 million each year to market their deadly and addictive products in Montana – more than 6 times what the state spends on tobacco prevention. 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.

Montana has made progress in the fight against tobacco with steady funding for tobacco prevention and other effective policies, including a comprehensive smoke-free law. The state's high school smoking rate fell by 65 percent from 1999 to 2018 (from 35 percent to 12.1 percent). But Montana has cut funding for tobacco prevention programs in recent years, and the state missed an opportunity to strengthen its fight against tobacco this year when tobacco companies spent over $17.5 million to defeat a ballot initiative to raise the state cigarette tax by $2 per pack.

"Montana has made strong progress, but the state's inadequate funding for tobacco prevention programs is putting kids' health at risk and burdening taxpayers with higher tobacco-related health care costs," said Matthew L. Myers, President of the Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids. "Montana 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 win this fight, Montana needs to do its part to make the next generation tobacco-free."

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