New York State receives a failing grade for curbing tobacco use

“The “smoke free air” category redeems the report card with an ‘A.’ Tobacco taxes are doing pretty well in New York State with a ‘B”.

For tobacco prevention and control program funding, Utah got an F. For tobacco taxes Utah received a D. Our State did ace it’s test on smokefree air.

For media interested in speaking with an expert about the “State of Tobacco Control” report, lung health, tobacco use and tobacco policies, contact the American Lung Association at Media(at)Lung(dot)org or 312-801-7628. “Certainly as a state and as a city, we have a long way to go but it is encouraging to see that the (Lung) Association recognizes improvements that are being made in our region”.

The American Lung Association in Utah said the problem is the State failed to create life saving tobacco policies. Still, Strother says the state needs to issue legislation to protect all Texans from secondhand smoke exposure.

The lung association said tobacco-related deaths are the most preventable cause of death in California, costing the state $18 billion a year.

The report also finds that most states and the federal government earned poor grades, and the high level of youth use of tobacco products other than cigarettes threatens to undermine the United States’ overall progress in the fight against tobacco-caused death and disease.

The other three categories used to judge counties and municipalities were smoke-free outdoor air, smoke-free multi-unit housing and reduced tobacco sales. Iowa’s current tax on cigarettes is $1.36 per pack. “We can not ignore the changing tobacco landscape”. “This will save lives and prevent our children from becoming the next generation hooked on tobacco”. But researchers only consider policies at the state and federal level.

A new report gives North Dakota an “F” when it comes to tobacco taxes. “We know that is another way and a best practice to reduce the use of tobacco products”, Sandquist said.

In California, more than 16,000 young people began smoking in the past year, and more than 220,000 in ages 14 to 17 are smokers.