National Report: New Jersey Ranks Last in Protecting Kids from Tobacco

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Dec 06, 2012, 09:00 ET

WASHINGTON, Dec. 6, 2012 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- New Jersey is tied for last 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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New Jersey is one of four states that have budgeted zero state funds for tobacco prevention programs this year. It is the first time since the 1998 state tobacco settlement that New Jersey has failed to provide any funding for tobacco prevention. The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommends that New Jersey provide $119.8 million a year for tobacco prevention programs. Other key findings for New Jersey include:

New Jersey this year will collect $997 million in revenue from the 1998 tobacco settlement and tobacco taxes, but will spend none of it on tobacco prevention programs.
New Jersey spent $30 million a year on tobacco prevention programs in the years immediately after the 1998 state tobacco settlement, but has steadily cut funding and now spends no money at all.
The tobacco companies spend $158 million a year to market their products in New Jersey.

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.

"New Jersey was once a leader in fighting tobacco use, but it is now one of the most disappointing states when it comes to protecting kids from tobacco and helping smokers quit," said Matthew L. Myers, President of the Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids. "Even in these difficult budget times, tobacco prevention is a smart investment that saves lives and saves money by reducing tobacco-related health care costs. States are being truly penny-wise and pound-foolish when they fail to properly fund tobacco prevention programs."

In New Jersey, 16.1 percent of high school students smoke, and 9,700 more kids become regular smokers each year. Tobacco annually claims 11,200 lives and costs the state $3.2 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 of the report 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