National Report: North Dakota Ranks 1st in Protecting Kids from Tobacco

States Challenged to Join Florida in Reducing Youth Smoking to Record Low

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Dec 11, 2014, 10:00 ET

WASHINGTON, Dec. 11, 2014 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- North Dakota ranks 1st in the country in funding programs that prevent kids from smoking and help smokers quit, according to a national report released today by a coalition of public health organizations. North Dakota is one of only two states, along with Alaska, that currently fund tobacco prevention programs at CDC-recommended levels.

The report challenges states to do more by shining the spotlight on Florida, which has cut its high school smoking rate to a record low 7.5 percent. The report details the lives and health care dollars each state could save if it brought its teen smoking rate down to Florida's.

If North Dakota reduced its high school smoking rate from the current 19 percent to 7.5 percent, it would prevent 21,180 kids from becoming adult smokers, saving 7,260 lives and $370.7 million in future health care costs. Today in North Dakota, tobacco annually claims 1,000 lives and costs the state $326 million in health care bills.

Other key findings for North Dakota include:

Counting both state funding and a federal grant, North Dakota will spend $10.7 million this year on tobacco prevention and cessation programs, which meets the recommended funding level set by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).
North Dakota will collect $61.9 million this year from the 1998 tobacco settlement and tobacco taxes and will spend 15.4 percent of the money on tobacco prevention programs.
Tobacco companies spend $27.9 million per year to market their products in North Dakota – three times what the state spends on tobacco prevention.

Today's report, titled "Broken Promises to Our Children: A State-by-State Look at the 1998 State Tobacco Settlement 16 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.

In 2008, North Dakota voters approved a ballot initiative that requires the state to fund a tobacco prevention and cessation program at CDC-recommended levels. From 2009 to 2013, North Dakota reduced its high school smoking rate from 22.4 percent to 19 percent.

"We applaud North Dakota for leading the nation in funding programs to prevent kids from smoking and help smokers quit. We urge North Dakota to continue this smart investment that will save lives and health care dollars," said Matthew L. Myers, President of the Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids.

Nationally, the report finds that:

Most states fail to adequately fund tobacco prevention and cessation programs. The states will collect $25.6 billion this year from the tobacco settlement and tobacco taxes but will spend only 1.9 percent of it ($490.4 million) on tobacco prevention programs.
States are falling woefully short of the CDC's recommended funding levels for tobacco prevention programs. Altogether, the states budgeted just 14.8 percent of the $3.3 billion the CDC recommends. Only two states – Alaska and North Dakota – are funding tobacco prevention programs at CDC-recommended levels.

Evidence shows tobacco prevention and cessation programs work to reduce smoking, save lives and save money. One study found that during the first 10 years of its tobacco prevention program, the state of Washington saved more than $5 in tobacco-related hospitalization costs for every $1 spent on the program.

Tobacco use is the No. 1 cause of preventable death in the United States, killing more than 480,000 people and costing the nation at least $289 billion in health care bills and lost productivity each year.

The full report and state-specific information can be found at www.tobaccofreekids.org/statereport.

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SOURCE Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids