|
|
|
Federal Report Provides Snapshot of State – Specific Data on Tobacco Control
Investments
Press
Release
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) issued a new
report that found that 45 states made a total investment of $883.2 million in
public health programs in fiscal year 2001 to decrease the prevalence of tobacco
use in the United States, particularly among teenagers whose current smoking
rates remain high throughout the country.
The report, Investment in Tobacco Control: State Highlights, 2001, is
a tool for states to use in developing tobacco control programs. It provides
current state-based information on the prevalence of tobacco use, the health
impact and costs associated with tobacco use, tobacco control funding, and
tobacco excise tax levels for all 50 states and the District of Columbia. It is
the third State Highlights report released by CDC and the first one to provide a
compilation of states' investments in tobacco control.
"We are encouraged by the fact that states are investing more for tobacco
control than at any time in our history," CDC Director Dr. Jeffrey Koplan
said. "However, these investments are far exceeded by the $6.7 billion that
tobacco companies spend each year to advertise and promote their products. They
are outspending us by more than seven to one."
The report highlights tobacco prevention and education programs that are
working. For example, in Florida, current smoking rates among middle school
students were reduced by 40 percent between 1998 and 2000 and in Massachusetts,
smoking prevalence rates among pregnant women have been cut in half.
The report shows that in fiscal year 2001, 45 states are investing a total of
$883.2 million in tobacco prevention and control programs, including 36 states
investing $654.9 million from state settlements with the tobacco industry; eight
states appropriating $218.4 million from tobacco excise tax revenues; and nine
states appropriating $9.9 million from their general revenues. Other funding
sources include $58.1 million awarded to the states by the CDC and $9 million
awarded by the American Legacy Foundation (ALF).
Other key findings include
- State-specific smoking prevalence among adults varied more than twofold
in 1999, ranging from a low of
13.9 percent in Utah to a high of 31.5
percent in Nevada.
- Current smoking prevalence among students (grades 9–12) ranged from 11.9
percent in Utah to 43.6 percent in South Dakota, more than a threefold
difference.
- Smoking-related death rates were more than twice as high in Nevada (469
deaths per 100,000 population) as in Utah (188 deaths per 100,000
population).
- In 1997, Kentucky had the highest lung cancer death rate (53.2 per
100,000), while Utah had the lowest death rate (14.2 per 100,000).
- Seven states (Arizona, Indiana, Maine, Massachusetts, Mississippi, Ohio,
and Vermont) are meeting or exceeding the CDC’s Best Practices for
Comprehensive Tobacco Programs minimal funding recommendations for
investing in effective tobacco control programs.
- At the end of 2000, state excise taxes on cigarettes ranged from a low of
2.5 cents per pack in Virginia to a high of $1.11 per pack in New York.
Forty-five states had an excise tax on smokeless tobacco products and many
states taxed these products at a much lower rate than cigarettes.
Although states are spending more money on tobacco prevention and control,
smoking rates among young people remain high putting future generations at risk
of premature death. "Not since the polio vaccine has this nation had a
better opportunity to make a significant impact in public health," Dr.
Koplan said. "Our analysis indicates that 5 million of the youth under age
18 in this country could die prematurely from a smoking-related illness if
current smoking patterns are not reduced. The sooner we reduce smoking rates in
this country, the more of these young people will be saved."
Investment
In
Tobacco
Control:
State
Highlights,
2001
|
|
