How You Can Help Hold Big Tobacco Accountable
Nearly 20 years ago, a U.S. Federal District judge found that the major cigarette manufacturers violated civil racketeering laws for deliberately defrauding the public.
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Nearly 4,500 Die from Cancers Caused by Smoking
May 31, 2012
Health Groups Call on Lawmakers to Boost Tobacco Control Funding to Reduce Deaths Caused by Smoking
(Trenton, NJ) (May 31, 2012) – The evidence is clear that adequately funded, well-managed tobacco control programs reduce smoking, which saves lives and taxpayer money. According to a new American Cancer Society report, Cancer Brief: Cancer and Smoking, nearly 30 percent of all cancer deaths in New Jersey are due to tobacco use. The best way to curb the devastation caused by smoking is to dedicate resources towards tobacco control programs to reduce that number.
Nearly 4,500 New Jersey residents died from cancers caused by smoking in 2011, according to an analysis released today by a coalition of anti-smoking groups. The groups urged action by state lawmakers to curb the devastation caused by smoking by boosting funding for the state’s anti-smoking efforts. In 2011, 4,492 New Jerseyans died from cancers that were likely caused by smoking with lung cancer the single biggest killer.
The toll tobacco takes on New Jersey is devastating. Lung cancer accounts for 75 percent of the smoking-attributable cancer deaths in New Jersey. Lung & bronchus cancer is one of the most common malignancies in the world, and is the leading cause of cancer death in men and women in the United States and in New Jersey. Lost wages and productivity due to tobacco use total $2.60 billion a year in the Garden State. The adult smoking rate is 15.8 percent and the teen smoking rate is 17 percent.
New Jersey’s past cuts have been one of the deepest in the nation. The cuts to New Jersey’s programs have caused progress to come to a halt and some evidence suggests that smoking rates are slowly starting to climb.
The state’s recent spending on tobacco prevention and cessation programs have been inadequate. Despite bringing in more than $5 billion in tobacco revenue during the past five years, New Jersey ranks 43rd in the nation for funding anti-tobacco programs.
It has never adequately financed its tobacco control program and in recent years has almost eliminated state support.
More than 70 percent of smokers report that they want to quit, yet, last year, the State of New Jersey turned away people seeking smoking cessation services because of a lack of funding. A recent report shows that the state spends less than a full penny of $1 it raises from tobacco taxes on anti-smoking programs. New Jersey has the sixth highest cigarette tax in the nation at $2.70 per pack.
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About the American Cancer Society
The American Cancer Society combines an unyielding passion with nearly a century of experience to save lives and end suffering from cancer. As a global grassroots force of more than three million volunteers, we fight for every birthday threatened by every cancer in every community. We save lives by helping people stay well by preventing cancer or detecting it early; helping people get well by being there for them during and after a cancer diagnosis; by finding cures through investment in groundbreaking discovery; and by fighting back by rallying lawmakers to pass laws to defeat cancer and by rallying communities worldwide to join the fight. As the nation’s largest non-governmental investor in cancer research, contributing more than $3.4 billion, we turn what we know about cancer into what we do. As a result, more than 11 million people in America who have had cancer and countless more who have avoided it will be celebrating birthdays this year. To learn more about us or to get help, call us any time, day or night, at 1-800-227-2345 or visit cancer.org
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