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Nearly 10,000 New Yorkers Die from Smoking-Related Cancers
February 13, 2013
New Analysis Shows More Funding Needed for State's Tobacco-Fighting Efforts ACS CAN Urges the Legislature to Reject Governor Cuomo's Potential Budget Cut
(Albany, NY) (February 13, 2013) - A new analysis by the American Cancer Society Cancer Action Network (ACS CAN) shows that nearly 10,000 New Yorkers die from smoking-related cancers, representing more than one in every four cancer deaths in the state. Cancer Brief: Tobacco Use and Cancer Deaths - the Preventable Epidemic details the staggering 9,610 tobacco-related cancer deaths and recommends boosting the state's support for it tobacco control program. New York's tobacco control program currently is budgeted at $41 million and its funding has been cut in half since 2008.
"Our analysis shows that nearly 10,000 New Yorkers are suffering and dying from cancers that are caused by smoking," said Blair Horner, Vice President for Advocacy, American Cancer Society Cancer Action Network of NY & NJ. "A better-funded Tobacco Control Program (TCP) would help more smokers quit and keep more kids from ever trying their first cigarette. Governor Cuomo's budget appears to put NY's tobacco control efforts in peril. This report underscores our call for the state to bolster - not cut - its support for tobacco control."
A recent report by ACS CAN and its public health partners ranked New York 21st for its diminished tobacco-fighting efforts. Just a few years ago, New York ranked 5th in the country.
Revenue is available to better fund the TCP. New York State takes in nearly $2.5 billion each year in tobacco revenues. Smokers pay it all in the form of higher prices on every tobacco product.
While smoking rates have declined among youth and in the general population, rates remain unchanged among poor and less educated population segments.
The TCP operates in every corner of the state. The program works in local communities to give smokers the one-on-one assistance they need to quit. It funds youth smoking prevention groups; the Smokers Quitline, free starter kits of nicotine patches for those who want to quit; as well as hard-hitting, effective media campaigns.
The toll tobacco takes on New York is devastating. More than 25,000 New Yorkers will die this year of smoking-related diseases and more than $8.17 billion is spent on health care costs each year to treat smoking caused illnesses. Lost wages and productivity due to tobacco use total $6.05 billion a year.
Cancer Brief: Tobacco Use and Cancer Deaths - the Preventable Epidemic can also be found at fightcancer.org/ny under "Publications."
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About the American Cancer Society Cancer Action Network
ACS CAN, the nonprofit, nonpartisan advocacy affiliate of the American Cancer Society, supports evidence-based policy and legislative solutions designed to eliminate cancer as a major health problem. ACS CAN works to encourage elected officials and candidates to make cancer a top national priority. ACS CAN gives ordinary people extraordinary power to fight cancer with the training and tools they need to make their voices heard. For more information, visit www.fightcancer.org.
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