American Lung Association Report Gives Kansas Mostly Failing Grades for Tobacco Control Policies

Kansas lags behind the nation on policies to prevent and reduce tobacco use, according to the American Lung Association’s 21st annual “State of Tobacco Control” report, released today. The state earned mostly failing grades on this year’s report.

The “State of Tobacco Control” report evaluates state and federal policies on actions taken to eliminate tobacco use and recommends proven-effective tobacco control laws and policies to save lives. This is critical, as tobacco use remains the leading cause of preventable death and disease in America and takes the lives of more than 4,300 Kansas residents each year.

“Kansas lags behind when it comes to tobacco control policies, and as a result, we have higher than average adult smoking rates at 15.6% and 25.8% of high school students use a tobacco product,” said Sara Prem, advocacy director for the American Lung Association in Kansas. “This gives us an important opportunity to improve the health of our state through proven policies, such as removing penalties for underage youth who purchase tobacco products and raising the legal tobacco sales age to 21 to align with federal law.”

Kansas’ Grades
The “State of Tobacco Control” report grades states and the District of Columbia in five areas that have been proven to prevent and reduce tobacco use and save lives. In the 2023 report, Kansas received the following grades:

• Funding for State Tobacco Prevention Programs – Grade F
• Strength of Smokefree Workplace Laws – Grade A
• Level of State Tobacco Taxes – Grade F
• Coverage and Access to Services to Quit Tobacco – Grade D
• Ending the Sale of All Flavored Tobacco Products – Grade F

This year’s report noted the need for Kansas policymakers to focus on passing legislation to remove ineffective and regressive criminal and monetary penalties for youth who purchase tobacco products illegally and raise the state legal tobacco sales age to 21 to align with federal law.

In addition, the report recommends that Kansas lawmakers increase funding for tobacco prevention and quit smoking programs. An investment in prevention is especially important given the ongoing youth vaping epidemic. Despite receiving $180 million from tobacco settlement payments and tobacco taxes, Kansas only funds tobacco control efforts at 9% of the level recommended by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). The Lung Association believes the funds should be used to support the health of our communities, and to prevent tobacco use and help people quit, and not switch to e-cigarettes. These programs also are critical for helping to end tobacco-related health disparities.

Federal Grades Overview
The report also grades the federal government on their efforts to eliminate tobacco use. This year, there were new steps taken by the government to prevent and reduce tobacco use, including proposed rules to end the sale of menthol cigarettes and flavored cigars, Congress passing a law requiring the FDA to regulate tobacco products made with synthetic nicotine, and increased federal enforcement of the Tobacco Control Act. As a result of these steps forward, the federal government’s grade for “Federal Regulation of Tobacco Products” improved from a “D” grade last year, to a “C” grade in the 2023 report.

The 2023 “State of Tobacco Control” report grades the federal government in five areas:

• Federal Government Regulation of Tobacco Products – Grade C
• Federal Coverage of Quit Smoking Treatments – Grade D
• Level of Federal Tobacco Taxes – Grade F
• Federal Mass Media Campaigns to Prevent and Reduce Tobacco Use – Grade A
• Federal Minimum Age of Sale for Tobacco Products to 21 – Incomplete

FDA is overdue in publishing the final Tobacco 21 regulations as required by statute, which is why it earns an “incomplete.” 

To learn more about this year’s “State of Tobacco Control” grades and take action, visit Lung.org/sotc.

Media Resources:

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