Alaska Must Work Harder to Prevent Tobacco-Caused Disease and Death
(January 19, 2012)—
Contact: Carrie Nyssen
360-921-1484
cnyssen@lungmtpacific.org
Alaska Must Work Harder to Prevent Tobacco-Caused Disease and Death
Anchorage, AK – Alaska took steps forward in some areas, but fell short in others to protect children and curb tobacco-related disease in 2011, according to the American Lung Association’s State of Tobacco Control 2012 report.
The Lung Association’s annual report card on tobacco control monitors progress on key tobacco control policies at the federal and state levels and assigns grades to assess whether laws are protecting citizens from the terrible health burden caused by tobacco use.
Alaska received mixed grades on their report card. They received an “F” for smokefree air, a “C” for cigarette tax, an “A” for tobacco prevention and control spending, and an “F” for cessation coverage. Alaska joins many other states that fell short in its responsibility to enact much-needed laws and policies that save lives and reduce tobacco-related disease.
“It’s time for Alaska to get an “A” in Smokefree Air by passing comprehensive statewide protections from secondhand smoke for all workers,” said Renée Klein, President & CEO of the American Lung Association of the Mountain Pacific. Nearly 50% of Alaska’s population is protected by local laws; it’s time to protect the entire state as 27 other states have already done.
“The benchmark for cessation coverage is high,” continued Klein. “Alaska could improve its grade in this category by removing barriers to cessation benefits for the Medicaid population such as prior authorization. We’re doing good work in Alaska, and we can do more.”
The American Lung Association in Alaska continued its commitment to funding tobacco prevention and control programs in 2011. Advocates worked with legislators and once again, secured an increase in funding for the state program. Legislators appropriated $10.55 million for the successful state program, an increase of $950,000 from fiscal year 2011. This increase makes Alaska one of the few states in the nation to fund tobacco prevention programs at or above the level recommended by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
The Lung Association also continued support on the local level for sound tobacco prevention policies. In 2010, the Anchorage Assembly voted to increase the city tax on a pack of cigarettes by 75 cents per pack. This increase went into effect on January 1, 2011, taking the total city tax to $2.21 per pack, and when combined with the $2.00 state tax on cigarettes to $4.21 per pack.
As the American Lung Association in Alaska moves forward in 2012, work will continue with statewide partners to improve the lung health of the state. Advocacy efforts will focus on maintaining funding for the state tobacco prevention program as well as continue the momentum and grow the support for comprehensive smokefree laws at the statewide level.
The Lung Association report congratulates the federal government for taking action to carry out strong tobacco control policies, as it identifies a chasm between the progress achieved by the federal government and weak efforts by most states. Due to state’s inaction, the tobacco industry has made inroads to fill the resulting void, attempting to exploit states’ failure to act and marketing new products to addict Americans.
Although youth and adult smoking rates declined slowly over the past decade, the decline has been inconsistent. Tobacco use continues to reap a devastating toll. The adult smoking rate in Alaska currently stands at 20.4 percent. Tobacco causes an estimated 488 deaths in Alaska annually and costs the state’s economy $448,937,000 in healthcare costs and lost productivity.
In its tenth annual State of Tobacco Control report, the Lung Association graded all 50 states and the District of Columbia on four proven policies to save lives and cut healthcare costs. These are tobacco prevention and control program funding; smokefree air laws; cigarette tax rates; and coverage of cessation treatments and services, to help smokers quit.
Overall, six states received all “F’s.” They were Alabama, Mississippi, Missouri, South Carolina, Virginia and West Virginia. Only four states, Delaware, Hawaii, Maine and Oklahoma, received all passing grades. No state received straight “A’s.”
Many states regressed in 2011. No state passed a strong smokefree air law, and Nevada weakened its existing law. Washington virtually eliminated a tobacco prevention and quit-smoking program that was previously a national model. For the first year in recent memory, no state increased its tobacco tax significantly, and 13 states and the District of Columbia significantly cut or completely eliminated already meager funding of tobacco control and prevention programs.
“The enormity of the challenge facing us requires combined resources at both the state and federal levels,” said Renée Klein, President and CEO of the American Lung Association of the Mountain Pacific. “Failure isn’t an option, because our end goal is removing tobacco’s chokehold on America’s health, and that’s a life-and-death matter.”
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About the American Lung Association in Alaska
The American Lung Association in Alaska is a non-profit, voluntary public health organization working to save lives by improving lung health and preventing lung disease in Alaska. Our programs focus on the areas of asthma, clean air, tobacco prevention and lung disease.
For more information about the American Lung Association in Alaska or to support the work it does, call: (907) 276-5864 or visit: www.aklung.org.
