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Smoke-Free Workplace
Laws, Cigarette Taxes on the Rise
By Steven Reinberg
HealthDay Reporter
Tuesday, January 9, 2007; 12:00 AM
TUESDAY, Jan. 9 (HealthDay News) --
Anti-tobacco forces are claiming some victories, with more states
banning smoking in public places. But there's still too little state
funding for smoking prevention and cessation programs.
That's the conclusion of the American
Lung Association's fifth annual State of Tobacco Control Report Card,
released Tuesday.
"The science is behind all the
policy items that we give grades on," said Thomas A. Carr,
manager of national policy at the American Lung Association. "But
what is lacking is the political will to enact them in all the states
and federal government."
"We know that strong smoke-free
air laws, high cigarette taxes and tobacco-prevention programs work,
but not all states are doing enough," Carr added. "Perhaps
they don't realize what it's costing them. The health care costs are
staggering. The costs of health care and lost productivity from
tobacco are estimated at $167 billion nationwide each year."
Stanton A. Glantz, director of the
Center for Tobacco Control Research and Education at the University of
California, San Francisco, thinks the lack of progress in many states
is due to pressure from tobacco companies.
"The tobacco companies are very
politically active," Glantz said. "They spend a lot of money
on campaign contributions and lobbyists, and they are very good at
protecting their interests. Every inch of public health progress is a
dollar out of the tobacco company's pockets."
David Sutton, a spokesman for Philip
Morris U.S.A., said the cigarette maker "is opposed to excessive
tax increases on cigarettes. They unfairly burden adult consumers.
States can use their Master Settlement proceeds to fund smoking
cessation and tobacco use prevention programs.
"We agree that there are places
where smoking should not be allowed at all," he added. "We
don't oppose reasonable public place smoking restrictions."
The new report highlights the growth in
the number of states with smoke-free workplace laws and average
cigarette taxes of at least $1 per pack, which indicates some progress
was made in 2006 to protect Americans from the dangers of smoking,
according to the report.
Carr thinks that the tax needs to be
raised even more. "The tax still only averages $1 a pack,"
he said.
"Last year, we had nine states
significantly strengthen their smoke-free-area laws," Carr
continued. "Now, 13 states and the District of Columbia are
smoke-free, with four more going fairly soon."
But, the report also stated that most
states are failing to adequately fund programs to prevent tobacco use
-- a critical step to keep children from taking up the habit.
"The bad news is that the federal
government continues to fail in supporting anti-smoking laws and in
giving the U.S. Food and Drug Administration the authority to regulate
tobacco -- three 'Fs' and a 'D,' " Carr said.
The report grades the 50 states, the
District of Columbia and Puerto Rico in four categories: smoke-free
air, cigarette taxes, prevention funding and restrictions on youth
access to tobacco products. For the second year in a row, Maine was
the only state to earn an "A" in all four categories.
This year's report gave a record 26
states and the District of Columbia passing grades -- "C" or
better for laws that make workplaces free of tobacco smoke.
"However, 23 states received 'Fs,' " Carr said.
Taxes on cigarettes rose in eight
states in 2006. New Jersey has the highest tax at $2.57 per pack, and
the national average has risen to $1 a pack, according to the report.
Overall funding for tobacco-prevention
and cessation-programs increased in 2006. "There are still 34
states that received 'Fs' for not funding these programs to the level
they should be," Carr said. Only nine states received an
"A" for spending a significant amount on smoking prevention
and cessation, up from six states in 2005, he said.
Among new efforts to limit smoking in
2006, Tennessee banned smoking in all state government buildings, and
North Carolina prohibited smoking in all buildings occupied by the
General Assembly. In Virginia, the state Senate approved a
smoke-free-air bill that was defeated in a House subcommittee.
In November's elections, seven states
voted on ballot initiatives to prohibit smoking in most public places
and workplaces, increase cigarette taxes, or increase funding for
tobacco programs.
Voters approved nonsmoking initiatives
in five of seven states -- Arizona, Florida, Nevada, Ohio and South
Dakota. And voters rejected pro-tobacco industry proposals in Arizona,
Nevada and Ohio, according to the report.
However, neither Congress nor the Bush
administration took any meaningful steps to curb tobacco use. That
lack of action earned the federal government an "F" for the
year, according to the report.
A bill to give the U.S. Food and Drug
Administration the power to regulate tobacco was introduced in
Congress but wasn't passed. And the Framework Convention on Tobacco
Control treaty was approved by 140 nations but not by the United
States.
One expert agrees that more money needs
to be spent on smoking-cessation programs and other anti-smoking
measures.
"In the states, more money needs
to be committed to comprehensive prevention programs," said Peter
Fisher, vice president for state issues at the Campaign for
Tobacco-Free Kids. "More states need to enact statewide
smoke-free laws, and there's still room to increase cigarette
taxes."
Fisher said the failure to act reflects
a lack of political will, not available funds. "Most states are
getting huge amounts of money from the master tobacco settlement
agreement and from cigarette taxes. But most states are failing to
commit enough to address the tobacco problem," he said.
More information
View the full report at the American
Lung Association.
SOURCES: Thomas A. Carr, manager,
national policy, American Lung Association, Washington, D.C.; Peter
Fisher, vice president for state issues, Campaign for Tobacco-Free
Kids, Washington, D.C.; Stanton A. Glantz, Ph.D., director, Center for
Tobacco Control Research and Education, University of California, San
Francisco; David Sutton, spokesman, Philip Morris U.S.A., ; Jan. 9,
2007, fifth annual American Lung AssociationState of Tobacco
Controlreport card
This original article can be fournd online
at:
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/01/09/AR2007010900684_pf.html
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