California Losing Ground On Tobacco Control
The American Lung Association issued a harsh assessment Wednesday of California's regulation of tobacco use, slamming the Golden State for its more than decade-long failure to raise cigarette taxes and what the non-profit says is a lackluster effort to fund smoking cessation programs.
“Once a national leader in tobacco control policies, California's efforts are now lagging,” the ALA said in a statement it issued to accompany its annual report, “The State of Tobacco Control 2013.”
The ALA gave California an “F” grade for what it says was an inadequate funding of smoking cessation programs, and a “D” grade regarding its 87-cent per pack tobacco tax, which has not been raised since 1999.
According to the report, California receives about $68 million in annual tobacco tax revenue, but spends just 15% of what the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention considers appropriate to fund smoking prevention and cessation programs.
As a result, the ALA concluded that 34,400 children in California take up smoking every year. The habit also costs the state $18 billion a year in healthcare services and lost productivity. Smoking has long been associated with a variety of cancers, emphysema, and heart disease, and can aggravate chronic conditions such as diabetes and asthma.
“The California Legislature must make it a priority to pass a tobacco tax and invest the money in California's pioneering tobacco prevention program,” said Marsha Ramos, who chairs the American Lung Association's California governing board. “Tobacco taxes for tobacco prevention will save the state billions of dollars in health care costs while preventing kids from ever beginning to smoke and helping current smokers quit.”
On a city-by-city basis, 63% of California's municipalities – 341 in all – received “F” grades, while just 17 received “A” grades, and 29 received “Bs.” Only 45 cities and counties took measures to improve tobacco regulation during the past year, according to the report.
San Francisco and Oakland were the only large cities to receive above-average grades – both received “Bs.” Anaheim and Bakersfield received “Fs” in every category, which included smoke-free housings and outdoor areas, and steps taken to reduce the sales of tobacco products.
The report blamed tobacco interests for defeating a proposed $1-a-pack increase in the cigarette tax when it was put before voters last June, spending $45 million to do so. Tobacco interests spent an additional $5 million between mid-2011 and mid-2012 to lobby state legislators, according to the ALA.
“We need to do more to fight the influence of tobacco interests in California politics,” Ramos said. “It's time for the California Legislature to remove Big Tobacco's welcome mat.”
