news-record.com

North Carolina didn't do so hot on the American Lung Association's annual report card. Three Fs and a C? Is that fair? Should we be doing better? Do you even care what the group says?



Should we be doing better? Join the discussion at the Debatables blog.


North Carolina has received three F's and a C in the American Lung Association's sixth annual grading of national and state anti-smoking initiatives.



The association, which issued its 2007 State of Tobacco Control Report Card today, seeks to minimize tobacco use and the damage that secondhand cigarette smoke can cause.



Tobacco use, the report says, is the leading cause of preventable death in the U.S., killing about 438,000 people a year. The measures the report advocates, including higher cigarette taxes and comprehensive tobacco-control programs, are proven to reduce smoking rates.



The association flunked North Carolina for its low cigarette tax: 35 cents a pack. Only six states have lower rates. The association seeks higher cigarette taxes because every 10 percent increase in the price of cigarettes equates to a reduction in smoking of 4 percent to 7 percent.



The association also gave the state an F for its relatively low rate of spending on tobacco control programs. The state will spend $18.9 million in fiscal year 2007-08. That's less than half the $42.5 million recommended by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.



The CDC provides some of the money the state spends. Just six states are funding programs at the CDC's recommended level, the report says.



The state also received an F for its relative lack of smoke-free-air legislation. Currently, the state does not ban smoking in private workplaces, child care centers, restaurants, bars, retail stores, or recreational facilities. Smoking is banned in state government buildings.



North Carolina was penalized for its state law pre-empting stricter local laws on smoke-free areas.



The state received a C for its laws restricting youth access to tobacco. As with other categories, the state received an F in this category in 2006. But the association changed its scoring system between 2006 and 2007 so that the two years of grades in this category are not comparable.



The report emphasizes preventing youth smoking because relatively few adults start smoking. Almost a quarter of American youth are smoking by the time they leave high school.



Nationally, the report blames federal, state and local elected officials for not pursuing anti-smoking efforts more vigorously, and it blames that lack of effort on political contributions from cigarette makers and retailers.



The report notes that in August, the President's Cancer Panel, three people appointed by President Bush, called for "the leadership of this nation to summon the political will" to address public-health problems caused by smoking. The Institute of Medicine, an independent agency that advises Congress, called in May for higher tobacco taxes, bans on smoking in workplaces and money for control programs as recommended by the CDC.



The report notes that in 2007 President Bush vetoed a



61-cent increase in the federal cigarette tax.



It also notes that the United States has not joined the 151 nations that have ratified the Framework Convention on Tobacco Control treaty, the world's first public health compact. The United States signed the treaty in 2004, but the president has not sent it to the Senate for ratification.

Contact Lex Alexander at 373-7088 or lex.alexander@news-record.com