National Report: New York Ranks 22nd in Protecting Kids from Tobacco

News provided by

Dec 14, 2016, 09:00 ET

WASHINGTON, Dec. 14, 2016 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- New York ranks 22nd nationwide in funding programs to prevent kids from smoking and help smokers quit, according to a report released today by a coalition of public health organizations. New York is spending $39.3 million this year on tobacco prevention and cessation programs, which is just 19.4 percent of the $203 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 cause of preventable death – and help make the next generation tobacco-free. In New York, 8.8 percent of high school students still smoke, and 7,600 kids become regular smokers each year. Tobacco use claims 28,200 New York lives and costs the state over $10.3 billion in health care bills annually.

Other key findings in the report include:

New York will collect $2.02 billion in revenue this year from the 1998 state tobacco settlement and tobacco taxes, but will spend only 2 percent of the money on tobacco prevention programs.
Tobacco companies spend $206 million each year to market their deadly and addictive products in New York – 5 times what the state spends on tobacco prevention. Nationwide, tobacco companies spend $9.1 billion a year on marketing – more than $1 million every hour.

Today's report, titled "Broken Promises to Our Children: A State-by-State Look at the 1998 State Tobacco Settlement 18 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, Americans for Nonsmokers' Rights and Truth Initiative.

New York has been a national leader in fighting tobacco use with the highest state cigarette tax ($4.35 per pack), a comprehensive smoke-free law and previously well-funded tobacco prevention and cessation programs. As a result, New York reduced its high school smoking rate from 31.8 percent in 1999 to 8.8 percent in 2015. However, New York has significantly cut funding for tobacco prevention since 2008, when funding stood at $85.5 million, and now provides less than one-fifth of what the CDC recommends. In addition to seeking additional funding for these programs, health advocates are urging New York leaders to raise the legal sale age of tobacco products to 21.

"Because of the tremendous progress our country – and states like New York – have made in reducing smoking, it is within our reach to win the fight against tobacco and make the next generation tobacco-free," said Matthew L. Myers, President of the Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids. "New York should keep doing everything it can to reduce tobacco use. That includes raising the tobacco age to 21 and increasing funding for programs that prevent kids from smoking and help smokers quit."

Nationwide, the U.S. has cut smoking rates to record lows – 15.1 percent among adults and 10.8 percent among high school students in 2015. If recent progress in reducing adult smoking continues, the U.S. could eliminate smoking by around 2035, according to a recent analysis in The New England Journal of Medicine.

By funding tobacco prevention and cessation programs at the CDC's recommended levels, the states can help achieve this goal. But today's report finds most states are falling far short:

The states will collect $26.6 billion this year from the tobacco settlement and tobacco taxes, but will spend less than 2 percent of it ($491.6 million) on tobacco prevention programs.
The $491.6 million that the states have budgeted for tobacco prevention is a small fraction of the $3.3 billion the CDC recommends. Only two states – North Dakota and Alaska – fund tobacco prevention programs at CDC-recommended levels.
States with well-funded, sustained tobacco prevention programs have seen remarkable progress. Florida, with one of the longest-running programs, reduced its high school smoking rate to 5.2 percent this year, one of the lowest rates ever reported by any state. One study found that during the first 10 years of its tobacco prevention program, the state of Washington saved more than $5 in health care costs for every $1 spent on the program.