Nebraska Legislature Must Address Tobacco Crisis
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WASHINGTON, DC Fifteen years after reaching more than $246 billion in legal settlements against the tobacco industry, most states have broken their promise to spend a significant portion of the money on programs to prevent kids from smoking and help smokers quit, according to a report released today by a coalition of public health organizations. States are being penny-wise and pound-foolish in shortchanging tobacco prevention and cessation program despite conclusive evidence that these programs reduce smoking, save lives and save money, the report concludes.æ Tobacco use is the number one cause of preventable death in the United States, killing more than 400,000 Americans and costing the nation $96 billion in health care bills each year. Key findings of the report include:
The report, titled Broken Promises to Our Children: The 1998 State Tobacco Settlement 15 Years Later, was released by the Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids, American Heart Association, American Cancer Society Cancer Action Network, American Lung Association, Robert Wood Johnson Foundation and Americans for Nonsmokers ' Rights. The report details the ever-growing scientific evidence that tobacco prevention and cessation programs work.æ Florida, which has a well-funded, sustained program, recently reported that its high school smoking rate fell to just 8.6 percent in 2013, far below the national rate.æ Studies have also found that tobacco prevention programs deliver a strong return on investment.æ A 2011 study in the American Journal of Public Health found that Washington state saved more than $5 in tobacco-related hospitalization costs for every $1 spent during the first 10 years of its program. It is public health malpractice that the states are spending so little on tobacco prevention programs despite having so much evidence that these programs work to save lives and save money, said Matthew L. Myers, President of the Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids.æ To win the fight against tobacco, elected officials at all levels must step up efforts to implement proven solutions, including well-funded tobacco prevention programs. This report comes as the nation nears the 50th anniversary of the first Surgeon General 's report on smoking and health, which was released on January 11, 1964.æ In recent decades, the U.S. has cut smoking rates in half, but around 18 percent of Americans still smoke and smoking declines have slowed in recent years. To accelerate declines in tobacco use and ultimately eliminate the death and disease it causes the report calls for bold action by the states and the federal government:
It 's inexcusable that states are spending less than two cents of every dollar they receive in settlement funds and tobacco taxes on cessation programs that are proven to help people quit, and ultimately better the health of its residents, said John R. Seffrin, PhD, chief executive officer, American Cancer Society Cancer Action Network, the advocacy affiliate of the American Cancer Society. Evidence shows what works in tobacco control: comprehensive smoke-free laws, significant, consistent increases in tobacco taxes and fully-funded tobacco prevention and cessation programs. This report is a wake-up call to state lawmakers, said Nancy Brown, CEO of the American Heart Association. It is simply unacceptable that such a tiny fraction of tobacco revenue is used for tobacco prevention and cessation programs. With sufficient funding, these programs save lives and money.æ Moving forward, the American Heart Association will continue to push for full funding of these programs in all states." States have had 15 years to make meaningful investments in proven programs that prevent youth from starting to smoke and to help smokers quit but tragically, almost all have failed, said Harold Wimmer, National President and CEO of the American Lung Association.æ State policymakers must begin to fund these proven programs in order to ensure another generation 's lives are not put at risk for devastating lung and other tobacco-related diseases. The full report and state-specific information are available at:æhttps://www.fightcancer.org/content/wp-content/uploads/2013/12/Broken-Promises-to-Our-Children-2013.pdf. CONTACTS: Lauren Walens, American Cancer Society Cancer Action Network, 202-661-5763 Peter Hamm, Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids, 202-296-5469 Retha Sherrod, American Heart Association, 202-785-7929 Gregg Tubbs, American Lung Association, 202-715-3469 Christine Clayton, Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, 609-627-5937