R.I. ACS CAN: State legislature can do more to improve cancer-prevention efforts

AMERICAN CANCER SOCIETY Cancer Action Network volunteers, from left, Robert Bailey, Ted Simon, Ryan Strik, Venus Tian and Ramone Johnson attended an R.I. House Finance Committee hearing in support of increased funding for the state's tobacco-control program. /COURTESY AMERICAN CANCER SOCIETY CANCER ACTION NETWORK RHODE ISLAND
AMERICAN CANCER SOCIETY Cancer Action Network volunteers, from left, Robert Bailey, Ted Simon, Ryan Strik, Venus Tian and Ramone Johnson attended an R.I. House Finance Committee hearing in support of increased funding for the state's tobacco-control program. /COURTESY AMERICAN CANCER SOCIETY CANCER ACTION NETWORK RHODE ISLAND

WARWICK – Rhode Island’s Tobacco Prevention and Cessation Program was level funded this year at $375,000, far below the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s recommended $12.8 million and well shy of the $3.1 million spent in the 2000s, a lost cancer-prevention opportunity the American Cancer Society Cancer Action Network hopes to remedy.

This year’s proposed $500,000 increase didn’t materialize, said Cori Christie, a spokesperson with the organization’s Rhode Island Grassroots Management office.

The increase was tied to a 50-cent increase on the cigarette sales tax, but ACS CAN didn’t support the increase, arguing it was too low, Christie said. Their research shows increases of less than $1 aren’t effective as deterrents to smoking and using tobacco products, she said, so they argued for a larger tax increase.

Without their support for the tax, the increase for the Tobacco Prevention and Cessation Program didn’t pass, and the $500,000 raised through the tax increase was deposited into the state’s general fund.

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Now, Christie said, her organization is setting its sights on next year’s budget process.

Increasing the budget commitment, and maintaining it over several years, can significantly reduce cancer rates, Christie said.

The 2014 Surgeon General’s Report on tobacco concluded that comprehensive statewide and community tobacco-control programs prevent and reduce tobacco use by keeping young people from becoming addicted and helping individuals who use tobacco to quit, Christie said.

States that have chosen to invest in their state tobacco-control programs have seen results:

  • California, the state with the nation’s longest-running tobacco-control program, has reduced lung and bronchus cancer rates four times faster than the rest of the United States.
  • From 2009 to 2015, smoking among North Dakota’s high school students fell by 48 percent (North Dakota invests 100.9 percent of the CDC-recommended spending in their tobacco-control program).
  • In Florida, the high school smoking rate fell to 6.9 percent in 2015, which is far below the national average.

These are all states that have made significant and long-term investments in their state tobacco-control program.

“State lawmakers, they’re really in a unique position. They have the tools at their disposal to reduce cancer in Rhode Island,” Christie said.

Indoor tanning regulations and breast- and cervical-cancer screening funding were also areas of improvement for the organization. According to the latest edition of “How Do You Measure Up: A Progress Report on State Legislative Activity to Reduce Cancer Incidence and Mortality,” released by ACS CAN Aug. 3, Rhode Island was ranked on policy recommendations in five of the nine issue areas.

Green shows that a state has adopted evidence-based policies and best practices; yellow indicates moderate movement toward the benchmark and red shows where states are falling short.

Rhode Island scored red marks on funding for Indoor Tanning Device Use Restrictions and Tobacco Prevention and Cessation Program, and Breast and Cervical Cancer Early Detection Program Funding.

States get a green rating when state law prohibits tanning for minors, with no exemptions. States are given a red rating when they have no law regarding tanning, or if the law has an exemption that allows for signed parental permission, parental accompaniment, or for physician prescription.

“Unfortunately, Rhode Island state law has an exemption for parental consent,” Christie said.

Regarding the breast and cervical cancer detection program, Christie said the state is getting $1.45 million in federal funds from the CDC, and the state has funded the program with $70,836. ACS CAN recommends investing at least $1 in state-appropriated funds for every $3 in federal funds from the CDC, she said.

Although the federal health care law has improved women’s access to lifesaving cancer-screening services, Christie said there are still women who continue to lack health insurance.

“These women depend on access to the National Breast and Cervical Cancer Early Detection Program. Unfortunately, our program is underfunded. Every year, ACS CAN testifies in support of increased funding to this program for Rhode Island,” she said.

“This year alone in Rhode Island, over 5,870 people will be diagnosed with cancer. We owe it to them and everyone at risk of developing the disease to do what we know works to prevent cancer and improve access to screenings and treatment. This report shows lawmakers a legislative path forward to improve cancer-prevention efforts, curb tobacco use, prioritize the quality of life for patients and their families, and increase access to critical health coverage,” said Shalini Vallabhan of ACS CAN in Rhode Island.

Rob Borkowski is a PBN contributing writer.

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