R.I. 43rd in nation in smoking prevention programs

PROVIDENCE – Rhode Island ranks 43rd in the nation in funding tobacco prevention programs, according to a national report released this week by a coalition of public health organizations.
The report, “Broken Promises to Our Children,” is a state-by-state look at the 1998 state tobacco settlement 16 years later. The report states that despite the “huge sums” they received from the tobacco settlement, states continue to shortchange tobacco cessation and prevention programs.
In the current budget year, fiscal 2015, states will collect $25.6 billion from the settlement and taxes, but will spend only 1.9 percent of it – $490.4 million – on programs to prevent children from smoking and help smokers quit, the report said.
In Rhode Island, $180.2 million in revenue will be collected this year from the 1998 tobacco settlement and tobacco taxes, and the state will only spend 0.2 percent of that money on tobacco prevention programs, the report said.
It said that tobacco annually claims 1,800 lives in Rhode Island, costing the state $640 million in health care bills.
Other findings for Rhode Island include:

  • Rhode Island will spend $388,027 this year on tobacco prevention and cessation programs, which is 3 percent of the $12.8 million recommended by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
  • Tobacco companies spend $23.1 million per year to market their products in Rhode Island – 59 times what the state spends on tobacco prevention.

The report 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.
Rhode Island has implemented several effective measures to reduce tobacco use, including a statewide smoke-free workplace law and a cigarette tax of $3.50 per pack, the third highest in the country.
“Rhode Island has made steady progress in reducing youth tobacco use, but the state’s gains are at risk unless it increases funding for tobacco prevention programs that are proven to save lives and health care dollars,” Matthew L. Myers, president of the Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids, said in a statement.
Ranked No. 1 was North Dakota, which spends $9.5 million on tobacco prevention, 97.8 percent of the CDC recommended spending. Massachusetts ranked No. 37 for spending $3.9 million, or 5.8 percent of the CDC recommended spending, and coming in last was New Jersey, which the report said spends no money on tobacco prevention.
Tobacco use is the No. 1 cause of preventable death in the United States, the report stated.
The full report and state-specific information can be found at tobaccofreekids.org/microsites/statereport2015/.

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