AUSTIN, Texas – The Lone Star State has fallen behind its neighbor to the north when it comes to implementing policies and passing legislation to prevent and reduce suffering and death from cancer, especially when it comes to decreasing deadly tobacco use. According to the latest edition of “How Do You Measure Up?: A Progress Report on State Legislative Activity to Reduce Cancer Incidence and Mortality,” Texas measured up to policy recommendations in only two of nine issue areas. The report was released today by the American Cancer Society Cancer Action Network (ACS CAN).
“This 16th edition of the report shows that, despite some extraordinary programs and research funding, Texas now lags behind Oklahoma in the fight against cancer,” said ACS CAN Texas Senior Government Relations Director Cam Scott. “Texas must work to adopt evidence-based policies and best practices. We owe it to the more than 121,000 Texans who will be diagnosed with cancer this year.
“In the last legislative session, state funding for tobacco control was slashed,” Scott said. “This report shows lawmakers a legislative path forward to improve cancer prevention efforts, which includes curbing tobacco use through tobacco control programs and increased tobacco taxes.”
“How Do You Measure Up?” rates states in nine areas of public policy, including increased access to care through Medicaid, screening program funding, smoke-free laws, cigarette tax levels, and tobacco prevention and cessation program funding. The report also looks at whether a state provides a balanced approach to pain medication and if it has policies proven to increase patient quality of life. A color-coded system classifies how well a state is doing in each issue. Green shows the state has adopted evidence-based policies and best practices; yellow indicates moderate movement toward the benchmark; and red shows where states are falling short.
How Texas Measures Up:
Increased Access to Medicaid: Red
Breast & Cervical Cancer Early Detection Program Funding: Yellow
Access to Palliative Care: Green
Pain Policy: Yellow
Cigarette Tax Rates: Yellow
Smoke-free Laws: Red
Tobacco Prevention and Cessation Program Funding: Red
Medicaid Coverage of Tobacco Cessation Services: Yellow
Indoor Tanning: Green
View the complete report and details on Texas’ grades here.