New CDC Youth Tobacco Survey Should Spur FDA to Finalize Rule Regulating All Tobacco Products, Including E-Cigarettes and Cigars

New CDC Youth Tobacco Survey Should Spur FDA to Finalize Rule Regulating All Tobacco Products, Including E-Cigarettes and Cigars

Teen E-Cigarette Use Triples, Cigar Use Stays Steady Even While Cigarette Smoking Continues to Drop 

WASHINGTON, DC – The 2013 National Youth Tobacco Survey released today by the CDC shows that while youth cigarette smoking continues to decline, electronic cigarette use among high school students tripled from 2011 to 2013 and there has been no progress in reducing youth cigar smoking.

These findings underscore the urgent need for the Food and Drug Administration to finalize its proposed rule to regulate all tobacco products, including e-cigarettes and cigars, in order to prevent youth use of these products.  We again call on the FDA to issue a final rule by April 25, 2015 – one year after the FDA issued a proposed rule – and to close gaps in the rule by cracking down on marketing and flavors that appeal to kids.  The FDA first announced in early 2011 that it planned to regulate e-cigarettes, cigars and other unregulated tobacco products, so these important public health protections are long overdue.  We cannot afford more delays that allow the tobacco industry to continue targeting our kids with a new generation of unregulated tobacco products.

The FDA currently regulates cigarettes, smokeless tobacco and roll-your-own tobacco under a landmark 2009 law, the Family Smoking Prevention and Tobacco Control Act.  But the FDA must assert jurisdiction over other tobacco products, including e-cigarettes and cigars, before it can regulate them, which is what the proposed rule would do.

Key findings of the new survey include:

·        Youth cigarette smoking continues a steady, long-term decline, again reaching a record low.  In 2013, the cigarette smoking rate among high school students was 12.7 percent, down from 14 percent in 2012 and 15.8 percent in 2011 (the CDC last year published results of the 2011 and 2012 National Youth Tobacco Surveys). Since 2000, cigarette smoking among high school students has been cut by more than half (from 28 to 12.7 percent), while middle school smoking has fallen by 74 percent (from 11 to 2.9 percent).

·        In 2013, 4.5 percent of high school students reported using e-cigarettes in the past 30 days. That is triple the 1.5 percent who reported doing so in 2011 and up from 2.8 percent in 2012. This increase comes as e-cigarette makers have marketed their products with the same tactics long used to market regular cigarettes to kids, including celebrity endorsements, slick TV and magazine ads, sponsorships of race cars and concerts, and sweet flavors such as gummi bear and cotton candy.

·        There has been no progress in reducing youth cigar smoking in recent years.  In 2013, 11.9 percent of high school students were cigar smokers, compared to 11.6 percent in 2011.  In 2013, high school boys smoked cigars at higher rates than cigarettes – 15.4 percent vs. 14.1 percent, while African-American high school students smoked cigars at much higher rates than cigarettes – 14.7 percent vs. 9 percent.  Because cigars are unregulated, often taxed at lower rates than cigarettes and can be sold individually, tobacco companies have been able to market an array of cheap, sweet cigars that appeal to kids.

As the CDC noted in its report on the survey results, nicotine use by youths in any form is unsafe and can harm adolescent brain development.  It is critical that the FDA act to regulate all tobacco products and prevent youth use of any tobacco product.

The big drops in cigarette smoking demonstrate that we know how to win the fight against tobacco by implementing scientifically proven strategies. These include higher tobacco taxes, strong smoke-free laws, well-funded tobacco prevention and cessation programs that include mass media campaigns, and effective FDA regulation of all tobacco products.

Tobacco use is the number one cause of preventable death in our country, killing 480,000 people and costing at least $289 billion in health care bills and economic losses each year.  It is within our reach to win this fight and make the next generation tobacco-free, but only if we have the political will to fully implement what we know works.

The National Youth Tobacco Survey results were published in the CDC’s Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report.

NOTE: In addition to the increase in youth use of e-cigarettes, poison control centers across the country continue to report soaring numbers of accidental poisonings related to e-cigarettes and the  nicotine liquids used in them.  The American Association of Poison Control Centers reports that, through October 31, there have been 3,353 calls so far this year involving exposures to e-cigarette devices and nicotine liquids.  This is more than double the 1,543 calls in all of 2013 and more than 12 times the 271 calls in 2011. The huge increase in poisoning incidents related to e-cigarettes is one more reason why the FDA must quickly finalize its rule, including requiring child-resistant packaging of nicotine liquids.

Teens Who Prefer Menthols Are Heavier Smokers: Study

It’s a fallacy that they’re safer than other tobacco products, researcher says:

(HealthDay News) — Teens who use menthol cigarettes are heavier smokers than those who smoke non-menthols, a new study finds.

Researchers analyzed data from a 2010-11 survey of more than 4,700 Canadian high school students who smoked and found that one-third of them smoked menthol cigarettes.

Menthol cigarette users smoked an average of 43 cigarettes a week, compared with 26 per week among those who did not smoke menthol cigarettes, the researchers found.

And teens who smoked menthol cigarettes were nearly three times more likely than other teen smokers to say they intended to continue smoking in the next year.

“The appeal of menthol cigarettes among youth stems from the perception that they are less harmful than regular cigarettes,” study author Sunday Azagba, a scientist at the Propel Center for Population Health Impact at the University of Waterloo in Canada, said in a university news release. “The minty taste helps mask the noxious properties, but the reality is that they are just as dangerous as any unflavored cigarette.”

The study, published in the June issue of the journal Cancer Causes and Control, only shows an association between menthol cigarettes and heavier smoking, not a direct cause-and-effect relationship. Still, the findings are worrisome, said Azagba.

“There is a growing concern that the high popularity of menthol cigarettes among youth may hinder the recent progress in preventing other young people from smoking because many of them may experiment with menthol rather than unflavored brands,” Azagba said.

Nearly one in 10 Canadian students in grades 10 to 12 is a smoker, the researchers said.

Moving forward, Azagba said, it’s clear that new laws are needed to ban all added flavors in all tobacco products.

More information

The American Cancer Society has more about menthol cigarettes.

SOURCE: University of Waterloo, news release, June 20, 2014

— Robert Preidt

http://consumer.healthday.com/kids-health-information-23/adolescents-and-teen-health-news-719/menthol-cigarettes-linked-to-more-smoking-among-teens-689105.html

NEWS RELEASE: ALA & TFND celebrate WHO “World No Tobacco Day”

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:    Saturday, May 31, 2014

ALA & TFND celebrate WHO “World No Tobacco Day”

In honor of “World No Tobacco Day”, celebrated by the World Health Organization (WHO) each year on May 31, the American Lung Association in North Dakota (ALA) and Tobacco Free North Dakota (TFND) encourage policymakers and all North Dakotans to examine the current taxes on tobacco products in our state and its relationship to above average tobacco use rates in both adults and youth in North Dakota.
Research and studies have long shown the correlation between cheap tobacco and higher use rates.  Unfortunately, North Dakota has both.
While the U.S. average tax on a pack of cigarettes is $1.53, as of today, North Dakota ranks 46th lowest in the nation at just $0.44 per pack.  At the same time, North Dakota’s high school smoking rate of 19.4% exceeds the national average of 18.1%; our youth smokeless tobacco rate of 13.6% almost doubles that of the 7.7% national average; and our adult smoking rate of 21.2% continues to rank higher than the 19.0% national average.
“We challenge our leaders – from top to bottom – to keep the health of North Dakotans, especially our young people, in mind as they set priorities and enact policies in the future,” said Kristie Wolff, Manager of Advocacy and Tobacco Control for ALA.  “We know what policies work, and the health and economic benefits are proven.  We just need leaders with the courage to do what’s right by our kids.”
The World Health Organization (WHO) recommends the per pack cigarette tax should reach or exceed 75% of the total cigarette price.  In North Dakota, that tax would equal a minimum of $3.34 per pack, more than 7.5 times higher than that of the current $0.44 per pack.
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Background:  May 31, 2014 marks the World Health Organization (WHO) annual commemoration of “World No Tobacco Day”.  Their ultimate goal is “to contribute to protecting present and future generations not only from the devastating health consequences due to tobacco, but also from the social, environmental and economic scourges of tobacco use and exposure to tobacco smoke”.
This year, WHO is calling on partner countries to raise taxes on tobacco.  Research shows that higher taxes are especially effective in reducing tobacco use among lower-income groups and in preventing young people from starting to smoke. 
Source:  CDC – http://www.cdc.gov/mmwr/preview/mmwrhtml/mm6321a1.htm?s_cid=mm6321a1_x

CTFK: President's Plan to Expand Early Education with a Tobacco Tax Will Protect Kids and Save Lives

Statement of Susan M. Liss, Executive Director, Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids
WASHINGTON, DC – President Obama today again called for bold action to protect our children from tobacco addiction and save lives, urging Congress to increase the federal cigarette tax by 94 cents per pack and similarly increase taxes on other tobacco products. The evidence is clear that increasing the tobacco tax is one of the most effective ways to reduce smoking and other tobacco use, especially among kids, as this year’s Surgeon General’s Report on Smoking and Health just reaffirmed.
This proposal, part of the President’s FY 2015 budget, would do more to reduce tobacco use among kids than any other single action the federal government can take. The tobacco tax increase would also raise $78 billion over 10 years to fund early childhood education initiatives proposed by the President, according to the Office of Management and Budget. Congress should embrace this proposal enthusiastically – it would provide millions of kids with a strong start in life, while helping them live longer, healthier lives free of tobacco addiction.
The need for Congress to increase the tobacco tax is more urgent than ever.  While our nation has cut smoking rates by more than half since the first Surgeon General’s report was issued 50 years ago in 1964, the latest Surgeon General’s report found that smoking is even more hazardous and takes an even greater toll on our nation’s health than previously thought.  The report found that smoking annually kills 480,000 Americans – causing one in every five deaths – and costs the nation more than $289 billion in health care bills and other economic losses.  Tobacco use remains the number one cause of preventable death in our country.
The report also underscored that tobacco use is a pediatric epidemic – 90 percent of adult smokers began at or before age 18, and 5.6 million kids alive today will die prematurely from smoking-caused disease unless current trends are reversed.  The President’s proposal represents exactly the kind of action needed to accelerate progress against tobacco and ultimately end the tobacco epidemic for good.
Among its key action steps, the new Surgeon General’s report calls for “raising the average excise cigarette taxes to prevent youth from starting smoking and encouraging smokers to quit.”
“Raising prices on cigarettes is one of the most effective tobacco control interventions,” the report concludes. “The evidence is sufficient to conclude that increases in the prices of tobacco products, including those resulting from excise tax increases, prevent initiation of tobacco use, promote cessation, and reduce the prevalence and intensity of tobacco use among youth and adults.”
Even tobacco companies admit in their own documents that tobacco tax increases reduce youth smoking.  Economic research has found that every 10 percent increase in the price of cigarettes reduces youth smoking by about seven percent and overall cigarette consumption by three to five percent.
The health and economic benefits of a federal tobacco tax increase were confirmed in a 2012 report by the highly respected Congressional Budget Office. The CBO found that a 50-cent increase in the federal tobacco tax would raise substantial new revenue while prompting nearly 1.4 million adult smokers to quit by 2021, saving tens of thousands of lives and reducing health care costs, including for the Medicaid program. Based on the CBO’s statement that a $1 tax increase would roughly double those benefits, we estimate that a 94-cent cigarette tax increase would prompt 2.6 million adult smokers to quit and save 18,000 lives over 10 years.
We estimate that a 94-cent increase in the federal cigarette tax would also:
·       Prevent 1.3 million kids from becoming addicted adult smokers;
·       Prevent 493,400 premature deaths from these reductions in youth smoking alone, and
·       Save $55 billion in future health care costs from reductions in youth and adult smoking.
The increased taxes on other tobacco products would have additional health benefits, preventing kids from using harmful and addictive products such as cheap, sweet cigars and smokeless tobacco.
Furthermore, national and state polls consistently show strong public support for substantial increases in tobacco taxes, with most polls showing voters favoring tobacco tax increases by more than a two-to-one margin. Polls consistently have found that large majorities of Democrats, Republicans and Independents and voters from a broad range of demographic and ethnic groups all support tobacco tax increases – as do significant numbers of smokers.
In short, a significant tobacco tax increase is a win-win-win for the country – a health win that will reduce tobacco use and save lives, a financial win that will raise revenue to fund an important initiative and reduce tobacco-related health care costs, and a political win that is popular with voters.

ACS CAN: President Renews Call for Stronger Tobacco Control in FY 15 Budget Proposal

WASHINGTON, D.C. – March 4, 2014 – President Obama today unveiled an FY15 budget proposal that prioritizes tobacco control with an increase in the federal tobacco tax, emphasizes the importance of primary care with an investment in workforce training for new doctors and signals his ongoing support for increased investment in medical research.
A statement from Chris Hansen, president of the American Cancer Society Cancer Action Network (ACS CAN), follows:
“The president’s budget proposal shows that he remains committed to increasing the federal cigarette tax by an unprecedented 94 cents, which would save lives and reduce long-term health care costs. Increasing tobacco taxes is one of the most effective ways to keep kids from smoking and encourage people to quit. ACS CAN estimates that nearly doubling the federal cigarette tax would prevent about 493,000 children from premature death, reduce the number of adult smokers by 2.6 million over 10 years and lower health care costs by $55 billion.
“ACS CAN applauds the President’s proposal to invest more than $14.6 billion to expand and train the nation’s healthcare workforce – and investment that is vital to our ability to emphasize prevention and wellness in the health care system.  This proposal builds upon the efforts included in the health care law and will further help cancer patients and their families, especially those in rural and underserved areas, to get the health care they need.
“We are disappointed that the president’s proposal reduces funding for critical breast, cervical and colorectal cancer screenings, offered through the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention to low-income and uninsured. While the Affordable Care Act makes strides in improving access to these proven prevention measures than can help to detect cancer at its earliest most treatable stages, millions of people will still need access to these critical programs in coming years.
“We are pleased that the budget proposal increases funding for medical research at the National Institutes of Health, but disappointed that the National Cancer Institute would receive only a nominal increase under the President’s budget.  We hope that cancer research will be prioritized as details emerge about the proposed $970 million in supplemental funding for the NIH. Investment in cancer-specific research and proven cancer screening programs for low-income and uninsured are essential to eliminating death and suffering from a disease that will kill an estimated 585,000 people in America and cost the economy $216 billion this year.”
ACS CAN, the nonprofit, nonpartisan advocacy affiliate of the American Cancer Society, supports evidence-based policy and legislative solutions designed to eliminate cancer as a major health problem. ACS CAN works to encourage elected officials and candidates to make cancer a top national priority. ACS CAN gives ordinary people extraordinary power to fight cancer with the training and tools they need to make their voices heard. For more information, visit www.acscan.org.

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FDA issues first orders to stop sale, distribution of tobacco products

FDA NEWS RELEASE

For Immediate Release: Feb. 21, 2014 

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration issued orders today to stop the further sale and distribution of four tobacco products currently on the market. The action marks the first time the FDA has used its authority under the Family Smoking Prevention and Tobacco Control Act to order a manufacturer of currently available tobacco products to stop selling and distributing them.
The products – Sutra Bidis Red, Sutra Bidis Menthol, Sutra Bidis Red Cone, and Sutra Bidis Menthol Cone – were found to be not substantially equivalent to tobacco products commercially marketed as of February 15, 2007, also known as predicate products. This means they can no longer be sold or distributed in interstate commerce or imported into the United States.
Bidis are thin, hand-rolled cigarettes filled with tobacco and wrapped in leaves from a tendu tree that are tied with string. The manufacturer, Jash International, did not meet the requirements of the Tobacco Control Act to be able to continue selling these products.
“Historically, tobacco companies controlled which products came on and off the market without any oversight,” said Mitch Zeller, J.D., director of the FDA’s Center for Tobacco Products. “But the Tobacco Control Act gave the FDA, a science-based regulatory agency, the authority to review applications and determine which new tobacco products may be sold and distributed under the law in order to protect public health.”
Under the Tobacco Control Act, regulated products were allowed to stay on the market if companies submitted an application to the FDA by March 22, 2011. The law requires the FDA to review product applications so the agency can decide whether the products are substantially equivalent (SE) to valid predicate products. If a company fails to provide the necessary information to show that their product is SE to a predicate product, the FDA has the authority to declare a product not substantially equivalent, which means that it can no longer be sold or distributed in interstate commerce.
In this case, Jash International did not identify eligible predicate tobacco products as required for the FDA to perform an SE review. Also, the company did not provide information necessary to determine whether the new products had the same characteristics as a predicate product, or had different characteristics but did not raise different questions of public health, the basis used by the FDA to review SE applications for tobacco products.
“Companies have an obligation to comply with the law – in this case, by providing evidence to support an SE application,” said Zeller. “Because the company failed to meet the requirement of the Tobacco Control Act, the FDA’s decision means that, regardless of when the products were manufactured, these four products can no longer be legally imported or sold or distributed through interstate commerce in the United States.”
Existing inventory may be subject to enforcement action, including seizure, without further notice. Companies that continue to sell and distribute these products in the United States may be subject to enforcement actions by the FDA.
With regard to retailers, FDA does not intend to take enforcement action for 30 days on previously purchased products that a retailer has in its inventory.  This policy does not apply to inventory purchased by retailers after the date of the order. FDA has issued draft guidance containing more information on the agency’s enforcement policy for certain tobacco products that the FDA finds not substantially equivalent. It will be open for public comment for 60 days, beginning Tuesday, February 25.
The FDA encourages retailers to contact their supplier or the manufacturer to discuss possible options for the misbranded and adulterated product or products that the retailers have in current inventory.
Consumers and other interested parties can report a potential tobacco-related violation of the Food, Drug & Cosmetic Act, including NSE products that continue to be sold or distributed in the United States, by using the FDA’s Potential Tobacco Product Violation Reporting Form.

For more information:

The FDA, an agency within the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, protects the public health by assuring the safety, effectiveness, and security of human and veterinary drugs, vaccines and other biological products for human use, and medical devices. The agency also is responsible for the safety and security of our nation’s food supply, cosmetics, dietary supplements, products that give off electronic radiation, and for regulating tobacco products.

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http://www.fda.gov/NewsEvents/Newsroom/PressAnnouncements/ucm386707.htm

Landmark Report Marks 50th Anniversary

ND Center for Tobacco Prevention & Control Policy
January 11 is the 50th anniversary of the landmark Surgeon General’s report that first linked smoking as a cause of lung cancer. North Dakota’s Center for Tobacco Prevention and Control Policy (the Center) and other tobacco prevention groups across the country are using the anniversary to note the important progress in tobacco prevention.
According to surgeongeneral.gov, the prevalence of smoking among U.S. adults has been reduced by 50 percent since the release of the first Surgeon General’s report on smoking and health in 1964. A new study published in the “Journal of the American Medical Association” claims that approximately 8 million lives have been saved by U.S. tobacco prevention measures. The same study also concludes tobacco control efforts have extended the average American life span by 19 to 20 years.
In North Dakota, voter initiatives are responsible for the state’s successful tobacco prevention efforts. In 2008, voters chose to fund a comprehensive tobacco prevention program. Then, in 2012, voters chose to implement a comprehensive smoke-free law, which took effect a year ago in December. These initiatives improve the public’s health by protecting people from secondhand smoke in all indoor workplaces, preventing youth from starting to use tobacco and helping tobacco users quit.
The comprehensive program has shown positive results across the state. North Dakota now has 131 school districts-representing 60 percent of the state’s K-12 students-that have implemented comprehensive tobacco-free policies. And, according to the 2013 Youth Risk Behavior Survey, high school smoking rates have dropped to 19 percent from 22.4 percent in 2009.
“We’ve made a lot of progress towards reducing the devastating toll tobacco use has on our state and across the country, but we still have more work to do,” said Jeanne Prom, executive director for the Center. “Tobacco companies spend billions each year marketing their deadly products to hook our youth to a life-time addiction to nicotine.”
Smoking kills 800 North Dakotans each year, and costs the state $247 million in healthcare and $192 million in lost productivity. Across the country, those numbers jump to 440,000 annual smoking-related deaths, $96 billion in healthcare costs and $97 billion in lost productivity. Tobacco prevention measures are essential in eliminating the harmful effects caused by the epidemic of tobacco use.
According to Prom, one of the most effective ways to keep kids from using tobacco and convince people to quit is to make tobacco less affordable by increasing the tobacco tax.
“North Dakota’s current tobacco tax is one of the lowest in the country at $0.44; it hasn’t increased since 1993,” said Prom. “Raising the tax from $0.44 to $2, a $1.56 increase per pack, would go a long way in reducing tobacco use in North Dakota.”
A fact sheet produced by the Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids and the Cancer Action Network shows the positive impact a $1.56 tobacco tax increase would have in North Dakota. The higher tax would save approximately 5,400 lives that would otherwise have been lost to smoking-related causes. The youth smoking rate would decline by 24 percent, 9,900 kids in North Dakota would be kept from becoming addicted adult smokers and 8,200 current adult smokers would quit. Over the next five years, that amounts to about $7.3 million saved in healthcare costs.
“The health benefits of a higher tobacco tax are clear because higher taxes are proven to reduce tobacco use,” Prom said. “Ultimately, it’s about saving lives and improving health for the people of North Dakota.”
http://www.breathend.com/news/detail.asp?newsID=312

Leading Health Groups Call for Bold Action to End the Tobacco Epidemic In the United States

Nation Challenged to Cut Smoking Rates to Under 10 Percent in 10 Years and Protect All Americans from Secondhand Smoke within 5 years

 
The seven groups issuing the call to action are the American Academy of Pediatrics, American Cancer Society Cancer Action Network, American Heart Association, American Lung Association, Americans for Nonsmokers’ Rights, Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids and Legacy®.
WASHINGTON, DC – As the United States marks the 50th anniversary of the first Surgeon General’s Report on Smoking and Health, seven leading public health and medical organizations today called for a new national commitment to end the tobacco epidemic for good.
At a press conference today, the organizations called for bold action by all levels of government to achieve three goals:

  • Reduce smoking rates, currently at about 18 percent, to less than 10 percent within 10 years;
  • Protect all Americans from secondhand smoke within five years; and
  • Ultimately eliminate the death and disease caused by tobacco use.

These seven organizations issued the following joint statement:  American Academy of Pediatrics, American Cancer Society Cancer Action Network, American Heart Association, American Lung Association, Americans for Nonsmokers’ Rights, Campaign for Tobacco Free Kids, and Legacy for Longer Healthier Lives
The first Surgeon General’s Report on Smoking and Health, issued on January 11, 1964, was a historic turning point in the nation’s fight against tobacco use.
Our organizations celebrate the remarkable progress of the past 50 years.  The United States has cut smoking rates by more than half (from 42.4 percent in 1965 to 18 percent today) and per capita consumption of cigarettes by more than 70 percent.  While smoking was allowed almost everywhere in 1964, today nearly half the nation’s population is protected by smoke-free laws that apply to all workplaces, restaurants and bars.  Reductions in smoking have saved millions of lives and are responsible for 30 percent of the increase in the life expectancy of Americans since 1964, according to a study published today in the Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA).  The fight against tobacco has been a tremendous public health achievement.
However, the battle is far from over.  Tobacco use is still the number one cause of preventable death in the United States.  Smoking kills more than 440,000 Americans each year, sickens millions more and costs the nation $193 billion annually in health care expenditures and lost productivity.  About 44 million adults still smoke, and more than 3,000 kids try their first cigarette each day.  It is unacceptable that tobacco still kills so many Americans, lures so many children, devastates so many families and places such a huge burden on our nation’s health care system.
On the 50th anniversary of the first Surgeon General’s report, it is time for a new national commitment to end the tobacco epidemic for good.  Today our organizations call for bold action by all levels of government to achieve three goals: 1) Reduce smoking rates, currently at about 18 percent, to less than 10 percent within 10 years; 2) protect all Americans from secondhand smoke within five years; and 3) ultimately eliminate the death and disease caused by tobacco.
Over the past 50 years, we have developed proven strategies that can achieve these goals if they are fully and effectively implemented.  These strategies include tobacco tax increases, comprehensive smoke-free workplace laws, hard-hitting mass media campaigns, health insurance coverage to ensure smokers have access to quit-smoking treatments, and well-funded, sustained programs to prevent kids from smoking and help smokers quit.  In 2009, these measures were supplemented with a powerful new tool when the Food and Drug Administration was granted authority to regulate the manufacturing, marketing and sale of tobacco products, for the first time empowering a federal agency to rein in the tobacco industry’s harmful practices.
We have the tools to end the tobacco epidemic for good.  We cannot afford to wait another 50 years.
Related materials: Downloadable charts showing progress since 1964

National Report: North Dakota Ranks 1st in Protecting Kids from Tobacco

Washington, DC – Fifteen years after the 1998 state tobacco settlement, North Dakota ranks 1st 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.
North Dakota currently spends $9.5 million a year on tobacco prevention and cessation programs, which meets the funding level recommended by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).  North Dakota is one of only two states, along with Alaska, that currently fund tobacco prevention programs at CDC-recommended levels.
Other key findings for North Dakota include:
•        North Dakota this year will collect $64.3 million in revenue from the 1998 tobacco settlement and tobacco taxes and will spend just 14.8 percent of it on tobacco prevention programs.
•        The tobacco companies spend $27.9 million a year to market their products in North Dakota. This is 3 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 15 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.
A 2008 voter-approved ballot initiative requires North Dakota to fund a tobacco prevention and cessation program at the CDC-recommended level.  In just two years, from 2009 to 2011, North Dakota reduced smoking among high school students by 13.5 percent (from 22.4 percent to 19.4 percent who smoke).
North Dakota made further progress in 2012 when voters overwhelmingly approved a comprehensive smoke-free law that applies to all workplaces, including restaurants and bars.  Health advocates are urging North Dakota leaders to also increase the state’s cigarette tax, which at just 44 cents per pack ranks 46th in the nation and is well below the state average of $1.53 per pack.
“We applaud North Dakota for its strong commitment to preventing kids from smoking, helping smokers quit and protecting all its citizens from harmful secondhand smoke,” said Matthew L. Myers, President of the Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids. “North Dakota is making a smart investment in tobacco prevention that will save lives and save money by reducing tobacco-related health care costs. To further reduce tobacco use, North Dakota’s leaders should also increase the tobacco tax.”
In North Dakota, 19.4 percent of high school students smoke, and 400 more kids become regular smokers each year. Tobacco annually claims 800 lives and costs the state $247 million in health care bills.
Nationally, the report finds that most states are failing to adequately fund tobacco prevention and cessation programs. Key national findings of the report include:
•        The states this year will collect $25 billion from the tobacco settlement and tobacco taxes, but will spend just 1.9 percent of it – $481.2 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 are falling woefully short of the CDC’s recommended funding levels for tobacco prevention programs. Altogether, the states have budgeted just 13 percent of the $3.7 billion the CDC recommends.
There is more evidence than ever before that tobacco prevention and cessation programs work to reduce smoking, save lives and save money. Florida, which has a well-funded, sustained tobacco prevention program, reduced its high school smoking rate to just 8.6 percent in 2013, far below the national rate. One study found that during the first 10 years of its tobacco prevention program, Washington state saved more than $5 in tobacco-related hospitalization costs for every $1 spent on the program.
Tobacco use is the number one cause of preventable death in the U.S., killing more than 400,000 people and costing $96 billion in health care bills each year. Nationally, about 18 percent of adults and 18.1 percent of high school students smoke.
More information, including the full report and state-specific information, can be obtained at www.tobaccofreekids.org/reports/settlements.
 

Great American Smokeout an Opportunity for Congress to Decrease National Tobacco Burden by Increasing the Federal Cigarette Tax

Statement from John R. Seffrin, PhD, CEO of the American Cancer Society Cancer Action Network (ACS CAN) 
WASHINGTON, D.C. – November 21, 2013 – “Today is the American Cancer Society’s Great American Smokeout, a day that smokers are encouraged to make a plan to quit their deadly habit and lawmakers are urged to support proven tobacco control policies that save lives. The American Cancer Society Cancer Action Network (ACS CAN) is urging members of Congress to support a proposal that would increase the federal cigarette tax by 94 cents and prevent 626,000 children from smoking-related death. S. 826, originally co-sponsored by Sens. Blumenthal, Harkin and Durbin, would also raise taxes on other tobacco products. ACS CAN estimates that the proposed cigarette tax increase would prevent 1.7 million children from becoming addicted smokers.
“Raising the price of tobacco products is one of the most effective approaches to encourage people to quit and prevent kids from picking up the deadly habit in the first place. Research has consistently shown that every 10 percent increase in the price of cigarettes reduces youth smoking by 6.5 percent and overall cigarette consumption by about 4 percent.
“The benefits of an increase in the federal tobacco tax are not just limited to children. Congress can reduce the number of adult smokers by nearly 2.6 million over 10 years by passing a 94-cent cigarette tax increase. Furthermore, this proposal comes at a time when there is a lot of discussion about how to reduce health care costs. ACS CAN estimates show that a 94-cent increase would save the country more than $63 billion in long-term health care costs from fewer youth and adult smokers, in addition to generating more than $78 billion in new revenue.
“January will mark the 50th anniversary of the landmark U.S. Surgeon General’s report that scientifically linked smoking to disease and death. The smoking rate has been cut in half in the ensuing decades, but more than 443,000 Americans will still die from smoking-related diseases this year. Tobacco use remains the nation’s most preventable cause of death.  Increasing the federal tobacco tax will save lives, save money and prevent numerous tobacco-related diseases. There has never been a better time for Congress to become heroes in the fight against tobacco use by helping to protect kids from lifelong addictions.”
ACS CAN debuted a new advertising campaign in Washington, D.C., this month that challenges Congress to become heroes and save lives by increasing the federal tobacco tax. Click here to view the ad: ht.ly/qivrQ.
ACS CAN, the nonprofit, nonpartisan advocacy affiliate of the American Cancer Society, supports evidence-based policy and legislative solutions designed to eliminate cancer as a major health problem. ACS CAN works to encourage elected officials and candidates to make cancer a top national priority. ACS CAN gives ordinary people extraordinary power to fight cancer with the training and tools they need to make their voices heard. For more information, visit www.acscan.org.

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