National Report: Indiana Ranks 24th in Protecting Kids from Tobacco

WASHINGTON, Nov. 30, 2011 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ Indiana ranks 24th in the nation in funding programs to prevent kids from smoking and help smokers quit, according to a national report released today by a coalition of public health organizations.

(Logo: http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20080918/CFTFKLOGO)

Indiana currently spends $10.1 million a year on tobacco prevention and cessation programs, which is 13 percent of the $78.8 million recommended by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). Other key findings for Indiana include:

• Indiana this year will collect $601 million in revenue from the 1998 tobacco settlement and tobacco taxes, but will spend just 1.7 percent of it on tobacco prevention programs. This means Indiana is spending less than 2 cents of every dollar in tobacco revenue to fight tobacco use.
• The tobacco companies spend $307.5 million a year to market their products in Indiana. This is 30 times what the state spends on tobacco prevention.

The annual report on states' funding of tobacco prevention programs, titled "A Broken Promise to Our Children: The 1998 State Tobacco Settlement 13 Years Later," was released by the Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids, American Heart Association, American Cancer Society Cancer Action Network, American Lung Association, the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation and Americans for Nonsmokers' Rights.

For the past decade, Indiana has had a highly successful tobacco prevention and cessation program that has helped reduce smoking by 36 percent among high school students and by 23 percent among adults.  Despite this success, funding for the program has been cut multiple times in recent years.  The program had a small increase in funding this year, from $9.2 million to $10.1 million, but it is still funded at just 13 percent of the CDC's recommended amount.

Indiana also is falling short in implementing other proven measures to reduce tobacco use.  The state lacks a statewide smoke-free law that applies to all workplaces, restaurants and bars, and the state cigarette tax of 99.5 cents per pack ranks 31^st in the nation and is below the national average of $1.46 per pack.

"Indiana has made significant progress in reducing smoking because of its strong tobacco prevention and cessation program.  But the state's progress is at risk unless it increases funding for tobacco prevention and implements other proven measures, including a comprehensive, statewide smoke-free law and a higher cigarette tax," said Matthew L. Myers, President of the Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids.  "Even in these difficult budget times, tobacco prevention is a smart investment for Indiana that saves lives and saves money by reducing tobacco-related health care costs."

In Indiana, 18.1 percent of high school students smoke, and 9,200 more kids become regular smokers each year. Tobacco annually claims 9,700 lives and costs the state $2.1 billion in health care bills.

Nationally, the report finds that most states are failing to adequately fund tobacco prevention and cessation programs. Altogether, the states have cut funding for these programs to the lowest level since 1999, when they first started receiving tobacco settlement payments.  Key national findings of the report include:

• The states this year will collect $25.6 billion from the tobacco settlement and tobacco taxes, but will spend just 1.8 percent of it – $456.7 million – on tobacco prevention programs. This means the states are spending less than two cents of every dollar in tobacco revenue to fight tobacco use.
• States have cut funding for tobacco prevention programs by 12 percent ($61.2 million) in the past year and by 36 percent ($260.5 million) in the past four years.
• Only two states – Alaska and North Dakota – currently fund tobacco prevention programs at the CDC-recommended level.

The report warns that the nation's progress in reducing smoking is at risk unless states increase funding for programs to prevent kids from smoking and help smokers quit.  The United States has significantly reduced smoking among both youth and adults, but 19.3 percent of adults and 19.5 percent of high school students still smoke.

Tobacco use is the leading preventable cause of death in the U.S., killing more than 400,000 people and costing $96 billion in health care bills each year. 

More information, including the full report and state-specific information, can be obtained at www.tobaccofreekids.org/reports/settlements.

SOURCE Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids