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January 6th, 2005
Contacts:
Andy Weisser, (818) 703-6444, aweisser@earthlink.net
Paul Knepprath, 916.505.3099, pknepprath@alac.or
www.californialung.org
or your local American Lung Association at (800) LUNG-USA.
Reporter/Editor Notes: Interviews and B-Roll for This News Story: This video package will contain SOUNDBITES from John Kirkwood, American Lung Association CEO and president as well as Norm Edelman, MD; GRAPHICS of report's key findings, tobacco statistics; FOOTAGE of the State of Tobacco Control Report Card cover, adults and teens smoking, smoke-free playground signage, a tobacco ID check and American Lung Association signage. Access for no charge, at www.thenewsmarket.com/ala (brief registration required).
American Lung Association Report Cites California’s Smoke-free Air and Youth Tobacco Laws Among Best in the Country
State Continues to Fall Short on Tobacco Control and Prevention Spending
and Cigarette Tax Rate
(Embargoed Until January 6, 2004, Sacramento, CA) – California’s tobacco prevention and control laws and funding earned the state two A grades, a C and an F in the American Lung Association State of Tobacco Control 2004 report.
The annual report card shows California as one of only six states in the country to provide comprehensive protection from the harmful effects of secondhand smoke. Although California received A grades for smoke-free air and youth tobacco restrictions, the report also finds that California’s funding level for tobacco control and prevention programs and its cigarette tax level is inadequate to reduce death and disability caused by tobacco.
“ California’s leaders can and should do more to reduce death and disability caused by tobacco, the number one preventable cause of death in the state,” said David Burns, MD, volunteer chair of the American Lung Association of California’s Tobacco Technical Advisory Group . “This report recognizes the leadership and vision that California has shown through its role-model smoke-free workplace and youth access to tobacco policies, however, it is disappointing that, as the nation’s leader in tobacco reduction efforts, California also received F and C grades in the report for tobacco control and prevention spending as well as our cigarette tax rate; we can do better.”
“The American Lung Association State of Tobacco Control 2004 report shows that the steps we take today will reduce the number of people who die from a tobacco-related illness tomorrow,” said Burns “Our state’s budget problems will only worsen without a strong tobacco control and prevention program supported by increased tobacco taxes.”
The American Lung Association report gave California the following grades in four key areas of tobacco control policy that were reviewed: Smokefree Air (A); Youth Access (A); Tobacco Control and Prevention Spending (F); Cigarette Tax (C).
Tobacco takes a heavy toll on California with 16.4 percent of adults in the state smoking. More than 74 out of every 100,000 people in the state suffer from lung cancer due to smoking and more than 261 out of every 100,000 people die from a smoking-related cause.
TOBACCO PREVENTION AND CONTROL FUNDING:
California Grade: F
Smoking costs California more than $14.6 billion each year in health-care costs and lost productivity.
It has been six years since the historic Master Settlement Agreement (MSA) between 46 states and the tobacco industry. In that time, well-funded, sustained and comprehensive tobacco control and prevention programs have shown dramatic results in reducing both youth and adult smoking rates. A recent study found that cigarette sales dropped more than twice as much in states with comprehensive tobacco control programs as in the United States as a whole. At the same time, California falls far short on the recommended spending levels suggested by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the criteria used in establishing grades for this category.
Comprehensive tobacco prevention and control programs include programs aimed at preventing teens from starting to smoke, providing cessation services to current smokers and implementing effective media campaigns to counter the insidious marketing tactics of the tobacco industry.
SMOKEFREE AIR:
California Grade: A
California set the standard for the rest of the country in this category. Secondhand smoke from cigarettes causes or worsens a wide range of health problems. The American Lung Association of believes everyone in public spaces and workplaces s hould have the right to breathe smoke-free air.
CALIFORNIA MUST RAISE CIGARETTE EXCISE TAXES:
California Grade: C
California is ranked in 22 nd place (falling from 19 th in last year’s report) among other states across the country in tobacco tax levels, lagging at .87 cents/pack. Examples of states with tobacco tax levels far exceeding California’s are: New Jersey, $2.40/pack; Rhode Island, $2.46/pack and Michigan, $2/pack, all of which received A grades in this section. Raising the cigarette excise tax and dedicating a portion of the revenues to tobacco prevention and control programs can rapidly and significantly reduce the number of children who start smoking and encourage many adults to quit. Higher taxes not only discourage youth smoking but also influence adults to quit.
While a number of states significantly raised their cigarette tax in 2004, most states have failed to set cigarette taxes at a level that will significantly deter children from smoking. The American Lung Association State of Tobacco Control 2004 report calls for states to use revenue from cigarette taxes to fund comprehensive tobacco prevention programs that will lower future healthcare costs.
“The potential benefit of raising taxes is enormous,” said Dr. Burns. “Higher taxes make cigarettes more expensive, which will not only deter children in California from starting to smoke, but also will motivate adults to quit.”
YOUTH ACCESS:
California Grade: A
Every day, 6,000 children under the age of 18 smoke for the first time and nearly 2,000 of them become established daily smokers.In California, 4.4 percent of middle school students and 16 percent of high school students smoke. The earlier a smoker starts, the more likely he or she is to die from tobacco use. Making it as difficult and inconvenient as possible for kids to get their hands on cigarettes reduces the number of youngsters who smoke.
California Policy Initiatives
During the 2004 legislative session, the American Lung Association of California was actively involved in four key legislative efforts to strengthen youth access laws and generate tobacco prevention and control funding, including legislation to enact fees on tobacco manufacturers that did not sign the 1998 Master Settlement Agreement; legislation to include tough sanctions on retailers for selling to tobacco to minors; legislation that extends California’s restrictions on self-service tobacco sales of non-cigarette tobacco products; and, legislation to prohibit smoking in vehicles when young children are present. The only bill that passed the legislature and became law was Senate Bill 1173 (Ortiz, D-Sacramento) that, beginning January 1, 2005, prohibits self-service displays and sales of non-cigarette tobacco products, such as cigars, pipe tobacco and smokeless tobacco.
The public remains committed to increasing tobacco restrictions, particularly as it related to exposure to cancer-causing secondhand smoke. In a May 2004 statewide survey of 1,003 California adults (age 18 and over) conducted by the Field Research Corporation on behalf of the American Lung Association of California, 65 percent of those surveyed indicated support for a law that would prohibit smoking in a vehicle in the presence of a young child. There were three bills introduced in 2004 to restrict smoking in vehicles and the tobacco industry made killing these bills their top priority.
The same Field Research Corporation poll also showed 60 percent favored passing laws to prohibit smoking on public beaches in California . Several cities have passed local odinances prohibiting smoking on beaches, including Huntington Beach , Los Angeles , Malibu , San Clemente , Santa Monica and Solana Beach , the first city in California to pass a smokefree beach policy.
Protecting people living in multi-unit housing from drifting secondhand smoke is becoming a growing concern and the American Lung Association of California and other organizations are developing strategies to address this important public health issue. California renters want no-smoking sections and smokefree common areas in their apartment complexes according to results from a statewide survey commissioned by the American Lung Association of California’s Center for Tobacco Policy and Organizing.
“ California must continue to pass role-model tobacco policies that will help the state’s four million smokers quit and prevent another generation from becoming addicted,” said Burns. “Increasing enforcement and penalties for selling tobacco to minors and generating long-overdue tobacco prevention and control resources is critical to battling the tobacco industry’s billion-dollar-a-year tobacco advertising campaigns.”
Federal Government Also Fails
For the first time, the American Lung Association State of Tobacco Control report, which previously included only state-by-state report cards, rates the federal government’s record on tobacco policy, and gives Congress and the White House failing grades for not enacting a comprehensive national tobacco control policy in 2004.
In the federal section of the report, the American Lung Association grades Congress and the White House on:
- Cigarette Taxes, Grade: F
- Regulation of Tobacco Products by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA), Grade: F
- Tobacco Cessation, Grade: F
- The Framework Convention on Tobacco Control (FCTC), an international tobacco control treaty, Grade: D
“Last year, the leadership of the U.S. House of Representatives squandered a historic opportunity to pass meaningful regulation of tobacco products,” said John L. Kirkwood, President and CEO of the American Lung Association. “The failure to enact FDA authority gives the tobacco industry a pass to continue marketing a new wave of products, including candy-flavored cigarettes, Camel Kauai Kolada, Camel Warm Mocha Mint and Kool Mixx Midnight Berry, that are clearly being marketed to children and teens.”
METHODOLOGY
The American Lung Association State of Tobacco Control 2004 is a report card that evaluates federal and state tobacco control laws against recognized criteria and translates each state’s relative progress into a letter grade of A, B, C, D, or F. A grade of A is assigned to excellent state policy, while an F indicates inadequate state laws. The complete methodology and score calculations are included in the report and can be found online at www.californialung.org and www.lungusa.org.
THE PUBLIC CAN TAKE ACTION
The public can support the necessary changes in state laws and policies to protect everyone’s health by visiting the American Lung Association of California’s website at www.californialung.org. The website includes information for sending a personalized letter to Gov. Schwarzenegger demanding tough measures to combat tobacco use and addiction.
In addition to advocacy efforts to help protect everyone’s health the American Lung Association of California offers Freedom From Smoking for those who want to quit smoking as well as other education programs to prevent children from starting to smoke. More information and copies of the American Lung Association State of Tobacco Control 2004 Report are available at www.californialung.org.
For 100 years, the American Lung Association has been the lead organization working to prevent lung disease and promote lung health. Lung disease death rates continue to increase while other leading causes of death have declined. The American Lung Association funds vital research on the causes of and treatments for lung disease. With the generous support of the public, the American Lung Association is “Improving life, one breath at a time.” For more information about the American Lung Association or to support the work it does, call 1.800.LUNG.USA (1.800.586.4872) or visit www.californialung.org or www.lungusa.org.call 1-800-LUNG-USA (1-800-586-4872) or visit
www.californialung.org.
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