Overview

Executive Summary	Cigarette Excise Tax Map and Overview
2006 Year in Review	State Cigarette Excise Tax 2006
Conclusion	Youth Access Map and Grading
Regional Analysis	Comparison of 2005 and 2006 Grades
Tobacco Prevention and Control Spending Map and Overview	Methodology
Smokefree Air Map and Grading	Download the full report in PDF

CONCLUSION

2006 was a year of great progress for tobacco control nationwide. The most success was seen in efforts to protect workers and patrons from exposure to secondhand smoke. The U.S. Surgeon General’s report ended the debate about the deadly consequences of secondhand smoke once and for all, prompting a number of states and localities to enact comprehensive smokefree air policies. Voters in five states approved ballot initiatives prohibiting smoking in almost all public places and workplaces, increasing cigarette taxes, and/or increasing funding for tobacco control and prevention programs.

Tobacco: Still the Leading Cause of Death

Each year, over 438,000 people in the United States die from tobacco-caused disease, making it the leading cause of preventable death in this country. In June 2006, the CDC released a study that found the drop in smoking among high school students since 1997 seems to have stalled, with no significant change between 2003 and 2005.⁶⁷ At the same time as tobacco companies are spending millions of dollars a day marketing to kids, states are spending less to combat that influence.

Also, new evidence shows that the eight-year decline in smoking rates among adults seems to have stalled. In 2005, 20.9 percent of adults were current smokers, the same percentage as in 2004. In addition, within certain segments of the population—such as those with lower education and income— the report showed that the smoking rate remains significantly higher than the national average.⁶⁹ This is a worrisome trend, and demonstrates the continuing need to enact proven tobacco control policies to reduce tobacco use.

There was some positive news. Overall cigarette consumption decreased 4.2 percent in 2005 and has dropped 21 percent since the Master Settlement Agreement was signed in 1998.⁷⁰ However, unless further action is taken, the toll of tobacco will not lessen. More people are now covered by smokefree workplace laws, protecting them from diseases caused by secondhand smoke.

Bold Action Required

The American Lung Association State of Tobacco Control 2006 report sets a high standard. Only the toughest tobacco control laws will help the American Lung Association achieve its mission to prevent lung disease and promote lung health. The tragedy of tobacco addiction and the disability, disease and death it causes will not be resolved with a half-hearted response consisting of partial measures and weak policy.

Tobacco control and public health experts agree: Tobacco use drops when states pass comprehensive smokefree laws, increase tobacco taxes, adequately fund tobacco control and prevention programs, and actively counter the industry’s marketing. 

In 2006, many states took the bold action necessary to reverse this trend and save lives.

• Smokefree air laws were significantly strengthened in Arizona, Arkansas, Colorado, the District of Columbia, Hawaii, Louisiana, Nevada, New Jersey, Ohio, Puerto Rico and Utah.
• Alaska, Arizona, Arkansas, Colorado, Delaware, Hawaii, Maine, New York and Wyoming committed to full funding of tobacco prevention and cessation programs.
• Cigarette taxes rose in Alaska, Arizona, Hawaii, New Jersey, North Carolina, South Dakota, Texas and Vermont. 

At the federal level, Congress again failed to give the FDA the authority to regulate tobacco products, failed to increase the cigarette tax and failed to adequately fund programs to help the nation's 45.1 million addicted smokers quit. While much of the rest of the world moved to ratify the world’s first tobacco treaty, the Framework Convention on Tobacco Control, the president again chose not to send the treaty to the Senate for ratification.

The American Lung Association's Smokefree Air 2010 Challenge is a crucial component in a bold plan to combat the nation's number one preventable killer. A successful campaign will result in a smokefree United States, healthier people and thousands of lives saved. The Lung Association urges policymakers to make smokefree air their commitment and accept our Challenge.

The official pronouncement by a federal court judge that the tobacco companies are racketeers and that they continue their deceptive behavior to this day should serve as a wake-up call to elected officials and other policymakers. It is long past time for the Administration, Congress, governors and state legislatures to stand up to Big Tobacco so that meaningful policies can be enacted to protect people from the deadly toll of tobacco use. 

Overview continued...