Lung association criticizes state tobacco policies

Jan 20 2012

The advocacy groups says states are not doing enough to stop smoking.

Bloomberg: Tobacco Policies 'Abysmal' In U.S. States, Lung Association Says
Anti-tobacco efforts by U.S. states were "abysmal" last year as their collective spending on anti-smoking programs declined 11 percent and only two raised cigarette taxes, the American Lung Association said.  While more than half the states already ban the use of cigarettes in restaurants, bars and workplaces, no additional states passed comprehensive anti-smoking laws last year, the Washington-based health advocacy group said today in a report. Forty-three states and the District of Columbia earned grades of "F" for funding smoking-prevention programs at less than half the levels the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention urged in a 2007 report, the lung group said (Peterson, 1/19).

The Baltimore Sun: Smoking Programs Not Keeping Pace
Most states, including Maryland, are not doing enough to protect the public from tobacco or prevent related disease, according to the latest assessment from the American Lung Association due out today. In its 10th annual State of Tobacco Control Report Card, the group gave praise to the Obama administration for offering treatments to federal employees, putting graphic pictures on cigarettes packs and advertising its 1-800-QUIT-NOW line. But the group said the tobacco companies are taking advantage of the states' lax policies by spending billions to market cigarettes and smokeless tobacco products (Cohn, 1/19).