Reporter/Editor Note: Tobacco/smoking-related b-roll and print graphics for this news story are available for no charge at lungusa.mediaseed.tv (brief registration required). View full details about California state, county and city grades are available at californialung.org/sotc-ca-local. The nationwide report is available at www.stateoftobaccocontrol.org.
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(Oakland, CA, January 13, 2009) -- California’s tobacco control policies earned mixed grades in a report released today by the American Lung Association, with low marks for the state’s failure to adequately fund tobacco control programs, raise the tobacco tax, and provide insurance coverage to help people quit smoking. The American Lung Association’s State of Tobacco Control 2008 report did give California high marks for its state laws that protect the public from secondhand smoke in enclosed public places and workplaces.
The annual report card grades states and the District of Columbia on four key tobacco control policy areas. California earned an A grade for its smoke-free air laws; a D for its cigarette tax rate; an F for tobacco prevention and control program funding; and a D for coverage of cessation treatments and services. Grades are calculated by comparing policies against standards that are based on the most current, recognized scientific criteria for effective tobacco control measures.
The American Lung Association of California also released local grades for 297 cities and 30 of the 58 counties in California. The local grades cover three key policy areas including: smoke-free outdoor air, smoke-free housing, and reducing sales of tobacco products. An overall tobacco control grade was awarded to each of these municipalities. While there are some excellent local grades, a majority of the grades reflect the need to do more to protect against secondhand smoke in multi-unit housing and outdoor environments. To see results for the 10 largest cities as well as a complete report of local grades, go to http://californialung.org/
The American Lung Association of California has successfully fought for some of the strongest secondhand smoke protections in the nation. California’s state law prohibits smoking in most workplaces, including bars, restaurants, childcare facilities, and stores. The association continues its work in communities across the state to advocate for policies that provide smoke-free multi-unit housing and smoke-free environments in outdoor places such as restaurants, parks and beaches.
These kind of local smoke-free policies are supported by a majority of Californians, according to a survey conducted by the American Lung Association of California’s Center for Tobacco Policy & Organizing in November 2008. Of the 600 California voters polled:
• 97 percent believe secondhand smoke is harmful to those who inhale it
• 88 percent believe secondhand smoke is harmful to those who inhale it in outdoor areas
• 69 percent support a law to restrict smoking in outdoor common areas of apartments
• 78 percent support a law requiring apartment buildings to offer nonsmoking sections
• 56 percent support restricting smoking at outdoor areas of bars and restaurants
• 69 percent feel that employees in California Indian casinos (now exempt from workplace smoking laws) should have the same protections from secondhand smoke as other employees in California
• 90 percent would either be more inclined to visit or would be unaffected if smoking were prohibited in California Indian casinos
For complete poll results, go to http://www.center4tobaccopolicy.org/polling-shs.
Three years after it officially designated secondhand smoke a toxic air contaminant, the California Air Resources Board is set to release its report to reduce public risk from secondhand smoke. The American Lung Association of California will participate in upcoming public workshops and hearings to discuss the report.
Stronger Tobacco Policies Needed, Beginning with a Stronger Tobacco Tax
“While California has made great strides in protecting people from secondhand smoke, we have to do more to prevent young people from using tobacco and help others quit,” said Trisha Murakawa, chair of the American Lung Association of California’s Board of Directors. “The state budget crisis cries out for bold leadership and that includes increasing the cigarette tax to increase state revenues and to protect those programs that help prevent youth smoking.”
Tobacco takes a tremendous toll on all Californians. Smoking-related diseases currently cost California more than $18 billion every year. Direct health care costs of smoking account for 54 percent of the total cost of smoking in California ($8.6 billion). Tobacco costs an estimated $4 billion every year in hospital care of current and former smokers.
California once led the nation with its tobacco tax rate but it has fallen to the back of the pack. At 87 cents per pack, the state’s tobacco tax rate is ranked 30th among all states and is well below the national average of $1.19 per pack, which is why it receives a failing grade in the tobacco control report. An increase in the tobacco tax will save lives, prevent youth from starting to smoke, encourage smokers to quit and lower health care costs from tobacco-related diseases.
The most recent state studies show that California’s youth smoking rates are increasing, after more than a decade of steady declines in tobacco use. Studies show that raising the tobacco tax will reduce youth smoking. For every 10 percent increase in the cost of a pack of cigarettes, there is a 7 percent decline in youth smoking.
In the 20 years since the American Lung Association of California helped pass Proposition 99, a landmark law that increased the state tobacco tax to fund prevention programs and research, the organization has fought for tough laws to protect the public from the deadly effects of tobacco use, despite fierce opposition from the well-funded tobacco industry, and fully fund programs to prevent and control tobacco use.
But the state continues to fall short in spending for tobacco prevent and control programs. While the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) recommends spending more than $441 million to combat tobacco use in California, the state has budgeted less than $79 million.
The report’s final policy area is tobacco cessation coverage, which earned the state a D. Both the state Medicaid program and employee health plan have a number of barriers to coverage and limit the number of quit attempts covered each year. Not all plans covered counseling.
“Providing comprehensive cessation services to those who already smoke is critical to reducing the devastating toll tobacco is taking here in California,” said David Burns, MD, an American Lung Association of California volunteer. “Nicotine in tobacco is highly addictive, so it is imperative that all Californians have access to effective cessation treatments and programs.”
Tobacco-related illness remains the number-one preventable cause of death in California and the U.S., responsible for an estimated 36,684 deaths in California each year. Tobacco-related illness claims close to 393,000 American lives every year and costs our nation $193 billion annually. The economic burden on California due to tobacco use totals more than $18 billion each year. With nearly 4 million smokers in California (more than the population of Oregon), tobacco use continues to have a significant toll on public health and taxpayer dollars.
“Tobacco use is part of a crisis plaguing America’s health and economy, and it must become a priority for leaders at all levels of our government,” Burns said. “That is why the American Lung Association of California continues to urge state leaders to stand with us against Big Tobacco and adopt strong tobacco control policies that protect the health of all Californians.”
Federal Efforts to Control Tobacco Use
The State of Tobacco Control 2008 report grades federal tobacco control efforts based on the federal cigarette tax; U.S. Food & Drug Administration (FDA) regulation of tobacco products; federal coverage of tobacco cessation treatments; and the ratification of the Framework Convention on Tobacco Control (the world’s first public health treaty, aimed at reducing tobacco use globally).
The federal government failed in three of four categories, mustering only a D for signing but not ratifying the Framework Convention on Tobacco Control (FCTC) treaty, and scoring Fs for failing to implement comprehensive cessation treatments, failing to give the FDA authority to regulate tobacco products, and having a cigarette tax that is too low to protect public health. The bill authorizing FDA regulation of tobacco products passed overwhelmingly in the U.S. House of Representatives in July, but was not considered by the U.S. Senate before they adjourned for 2008. The Bush Administration once again neglected to submit the FCTC to the Senate for ratification, leaving the U.S. unable to participate in international negotiations to implement and enforce the treaty.
In the area of smoking cessation, the federal government’s overall coverage is weak. While the Medicare prescription drug benefit covers smoking cessation drugs for its patients, the federal government does not require state Medicaid programs to provide cessation coverage for Medicaid recipients.
Seven states – Alabama, Kentucky, Missouri, North Carolina, South Carolina, Virginia and West Virginia – scored all Fs. No state earned an A in all categories, unlike previous years, and no state earned an A for the report’s new category, which measures state coverage of tobacco cessation treatments and services for their Medicaid recipients and state employees. Six states do nothing to help their Medicaid population quit smoking; another six states fail to offer smoking cessation benefits for state employees.
Association Offers Support
The American Lung Association has helped millions of smokers quit for good through its proven cessation programs and services, including Freedom From Smoking® Online. The free seven-part program lets you quit at your own pace when you log on at www.ffsonline.org. The association also offers in-person quit-smoking classes for teens and adults in communities throughout California. Freedom From Smoking is also available to employers that have or are planning or have smoke-free campuses, to assist their employees in quitting smoking.
You can also get help by calling the association’s free HelpLine at 800.586.4872, where you can speak to a registered nurse or respiratory therapist about cessation options.
About the American Lung Association: Now in its second century, the American Lung Association is the leading organization working to save lives by improving lung health and preventing lung disease. With your generous support, the American Lung Association is “Fighting for Air” through research, education and advocacy. For more information about the American Lung Association, a Charity Navigator Four Star Charity and holder of the Better Business Bureau Wise Giving Guide Seal, or to support the work it does, call 800.LUNG.USA (800.586.4872) or visit www.californialung.org or www.lungusa.org.
