News Release

Public supports tobacco control strategies outlined by American Lung Association

--Report cards show states mostly failing in policies to protect public health--

Peer-Reviewed Publication

Cooney Waters Group, Inc.

January 7, 2003 – New York – A survey of U.S. adults shows that a majority of people support the four key tobacco control strategies cited by the American Lung Association to reduce the death and disease caused by smoking. The survey coincides with the release of the American Lung Association State of Tobacco Control 2002 which contains individual report cards of each state's policies and findings that many states are failing to implement laws and programs recommended by the Lung Association.

"While more than 440,000 Americans die of diseases caused by smoking each year, many states are turning their backs on measures proven to protect the health of their citizens," said John Kirkwood, President and CEO of the American Lung Association. "We know we are not alone in our fight against the tobacco interests because the public also supports the protective actions we are trying to help initiate at the state level."

To make a significant impact on the death, disease and economic loss caused by tobacco, the Lung Association advises states to create smokefree environments, increase cigarette excise taxes, allocate available funds to prevent people from smoking and to help smokers quit and restrict youth access to tobacco.

Eighty-eight percent of U.S. adults believe they should be able to breathe smokefree air anywhere, including indoors. The American Lung Association advocates for the enactment and enforcement of laws that will eliminate exposure by children or adults to secondhand smoke, especially in the workplace, schools, day care centers, health care facilities and public buildings. It is important to make sure that state laws limiting exposure to second hand smoke establish a minimum standard that still allows local governments to increase the protection.

Among U.S. adults, 60 percent favor a 50-cent increase in tax to reduce use, especially among kids, while a dollar increase in tax to reduce use is favored by 52 percent of the public. Enacting significant increases in the excise tax on tobacco products can help raise money to support prevention and quitting programs, and previous efforts have shown that increasing excise taxes helps reduce the number of people who smoke. The Lung Association recommends that tobacco taxes be indexed to ensure that they keep up with inflation.

The use of tobacco settlement money to fund comprehensive prevention and cessation programs is supported by 73 percent of U.S. adults; 24 percent of people oppose it. The American Lung Association advises states to use a significant portion of their tobacco settlement funds for effective prevention and education programs. The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention have developed guidelines for each state that identify program funding levels that can be the foundation for a comprehensive tobacco prevention and education program.

74 percent of U.S. adults favor further limits on youth access to tobacco products. Youth access laws can focus on a number of ways to keep tobacco away from kids, including monitoring and penalizing retailers, authorizing surprise inspections of retailers, and eliminating tobacco vending machines and the sale of loose cigarettes. About 30 percent of U.S. high school students and 11 percent of middle school students presently smoke. If current smoking patterns persist, an estimated 6.4 million children under 18 will die prematurely from a smoking-related disease.

The survey was conducted for the American Lung Association by TeleNation with a minimum of 1,000 telephone interviews among adults 18 years of age or older; 480 males and 520 females. The company used a random digit?dial technique to select a sample from all available residential telephone numbers in the contiguous United States. The data tabulations are weighted to appropriately represent the interaction between various demographic factors, including age, income, residency within the four National Census regions and gender. In each of the four tobacco control policy areas, Tobacco Prevention and Control Funding, Smokefree Air, Cigarette Taxes and Youth Access, the American Lung Association graded state laws "A" to "F". People can log onto www.lungusa.org to see what grade their individual states earned, and quickly and easily contact their state leaders and demand tough measures to combat tobacco use and addiction.

Americans should not settle for weak tobacco control measures. We know that strong tobacco control laws save lives," said Kirkwood. "We need state legislators and governors who will enact these laws, putting their constituents' health ahead of tobacco interests. It is time for state leaders to stand up and save lives."

The public can support the necessary changes in state laws and policies to protect people's lungs by logging onto the American Lung Association's web site at www.lungusa.org and sending a personalized letter to their state governors demanding tough measures to combat tobacco use and addiction.

In addition to advocacy efforts to help protect people's lungs, the American Lung Association offers Freedom From Smoking online for those who want to quit smoking. Full copies of State of Tobacco Control 2002 are available as a PDF file at www.lungusa.org, where an interactive online version can be also be found.

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The American Lung Association has been fighting lung disease for nearly 100 years. With generous support of the public and the help of volunteers, there have been many advances against lung disease. However, the work is not finished. Looking forward to their second century, the Lung Association will continue to strive to make breathing easier for everyone through programs of education, community service, advocacy, and research. The American Lung Association's activities are supported by donations to Christmas Seals® and other voluntary contributions. You may obtain additional information via the Web site at www.lungusa.org.

Contacts:
Peter Vigliarolo, 212-886-2213, pvigliarolo@cooneywaters.com
Jennifer Passantino, 732-382-8898, jennpass@cs.com
Michelle Sawatka, 212-315-8727, msawatka@lungusa.org


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