NEBRASKA - Nebraska flunked almost all categories in the American Lung Association’s State of Tobacco Control 2009 report released today. Nebraska failed to enact or put into place proven policies for preventing death and disease caused by tobacco use, the number one preventable cause of death in the United States. On a positive note, the state was commended for its smokefree law which took effect June 1, 2009.
Nebraska received the following grades:
· Tobacco Prevention and Control Spending, F
· Cigarette Tax, F
· Smokefree Air, A
· Cessation Coverage, F
The annual report card sounds an urgent alarm for Nebraska. In the battle to reduce the devastating toll of tobacco use, the stakes are extremely high.
“The consequences of success or failure are life or death. For Nebraska, the report card sounds a wake-up call,” said Michelle Bernth, Senior Vice President of Marketing, Health Promotions and Public Policy.
State of Tobacco Control 2009 grades states and the District of Columbia on smokefree air laws; cigarette rates, tobacco prevention and control program funding; and coverage of cessation treatments and services, designed to help smokers quit.
“It is imperative that we hold our elected officials accountable for failing to fully implement robust policies to reduce the death and disease caused by tobacco use,” said Bernth.
State of Tobacco Control 2009 grades states and the District of Columbia on smokefree air laws; cigarette tax rates; tobacco prevention and control program funding; and coverage of cessation treatments and services, designed to help smokers quit.
Tobacco-related illness remains the number-one preventable cause of death in the U.S. and is responsible for an estimated 2,274 deaths in Nebraska. Tobacco-related illness kills more than 393,000 Americans each year and costs our nation a staggering $193 billion annually. Another 50,000 Americans die from exposure to secondhand smoke exposure. The U.S. Surgeon General has declared that there is no safe level of exposure to secondhand smoke.
To calculate grades published in State of Tobacco Control 2009, the American Lung Association compared policies against targets based on the most current, recognized scientific criteria for effective tobacco control.
