Report: PA Failing To Protect Kids From Tobacco

Pennsylvania ranks 27th 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.

"Pennsylvania again is one of the most disappointing states when it comes to funding programs to protect kids from tobacco and is falling far short of what the CDC recommends," said Matthew L. Myers, President of the Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids.  

Pennsylvania currently spends $13.9 million a year on tobacco prevention and cessation programs, which is 9 percent of the $155.5 million recommended by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). Other key findings for Pennsylvania include:

• Pennsylvania this year will collect $1.5 billion in revenue from the 1998 tobacco settlement and tobacco taxes, but will spend just 0.9 percent of it on tobacco prevention programs. This means Pennsylvania is spending less than a penny of every dollar in tobacco revenue to fight tobacco use.
• Since 1999, Pennsylvania has cut funding for tobacco prevention by 57 percent, from $32.1 million to $13.9 million.
• The tobacco companies spend $452.8 million a year to market their products in Pennsylvania. This is 32 times what the state spends on tobacco prevention.

"To reduce tobacco use, it is critical that Pennsylvania increase funding for tobacco prevention.  Even in these difficult budget times, tobacco prevention is a smart investment that saves lives and saves money by reducing tobacco-related health care costs," Myers said. 

In Pennsylvania, 18.4 percent of high school students smoke, and 17,300 more kids become regular smokers each year. Tobacco annually claims 20,000 lives and costs the state $5.2 billion in health care bills.

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.

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.