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New York’s smoking cessation record for 2011 is mixed, Lung Association report says

Posted 1/22/12

While New York took steps forward in some areas to protect children and curb tobacco-related disease during 2011, it fell short in other areas, according to the American Lung Association’s State of …

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New York’s smoking cessation record for 2011 is mixed, Lung Association report says

Posted

While New York took steps forward in some areas to protect children and curb tobacco-related disease during 2011, it fell short in other areas, according to the American Lung Association’s State of Tobacco Control 2012.

The Lung Association’s 10th 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 health burden caused by tobacco use.

“While some important steps were taken to expand tobacco cessation counseling offered to Medicaid recipients and some state and local laws were passed to protect more New Yorkers from secondhand smoke, the state took a major step backward by cutting funding for its Tobacco Control Program,” said Jeff Seyler, CEO of the American Lung Association in New York.

“An adequately funded program is vital to our overall effort to curb tobacco use and save lives,” he said . “It’s disappointing that just days before the release of this report giving New York a failing grade for inadequately funding its tobacco control program, the governor proposes further cutting the program by $5 million.”

Although youth and adult smoking rates have declined slowly over the past decade, the decline has been inconsistent. The adult smoking rate in New York is 15.5 percent. Each year, 443,000 people die from tobacco-related illnesses and secondhand smoke exposure nationwide. In New York, tobacco causes an estimated 25,432 deaths annually and costs the state’s economy more than $14 billion in healthcare costs and lost productivity.

New York’s budget for the Tobacco Control Program has been cut in half over the last three years.

To get New York back on the right track, the Lung Association and other public health groups are asking the governor and legislative leaders to restore the program’s funding to $54 in this year’s budget. Funding could then be incrementally increased until it reaches the CDC-recommended level, the association said.

New York was issued the following grades in the Lung Association’s State of Tobacco Control Report 2012:

Tobacco Prevention and Control Spending: F

Cigarette Taxes: A

Smokefree Air Laws: A

Coverage for Cessation Services: F