Despite the states’ increased effort to fight smoking, the rate of tobacco-related deaths has not dropped significantly in recent years, according to an American Lung Association study.
Tobacco prevention and control continues to be a priority for states and antismoking laws are spreading around the world, but more efforts are needed to combat tobacco dependence in our society.
Each year, the report of the American Lung Association evaluates the results of the states’ smoking-prevention programs in comparison with the amount of money they spend on this issue.
In this year’s study, Hawaii, Maine, Massachusetts and Rhode Island got the best grades. Alaska and Delaware received top marks for funding tobacco control programs at 80 percent or more of the levels recommended by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
Massachusetts and New York were the only states to raise cigarette excise taxes in 2008, with New York having the nation’s highest cigarette tax at $2.75 per pack.
New York provided $81.9 million for tobacco prevention and control, less than a third of the $254.3 million recommended by the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the report found. Still, more than 25,000 New Yorkers die from tobacco- related illness each year. Nearly 390,000 Americans a year die of all tobacco-related causes, including such diseases like emphysema. In addition, the CDC says that long-term exposure to secondhand smoke may be associated with up to a 30-percent increased risk of heart disease in non-smokers.
Earlier this year, Taiwan announced the decision to ban indoor smoking, becoming the 17th state in the world and the second country in Asia to take the move to protect people's health. Under the new law, smoking is banned in all other public facilities such as hotels, restaurants, karaoke bars, Internet cafes and transport stations.
In Ontario, Canada, new legislation prohibits smoking in cars with kids under 16 present. In California, the authorities went even further with anti-smoking programs; one city council has banned smoking inside your home if you live in an apartment complex.
The World Health Organization informed that smoking cigarettes killed 100 million people around the world in the previous century and cautioned that in the 21st century it could kill one billion people worldwide. Smoking increases the risk of many other cancers in women, including breast, oral, pharynx, larynx, esophageal, pancreatic, kidney, bladder, uterine, and cervical cancers.
A recent study released by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention showed that hospital admissions for heart attacks were drastically reduced in the city of Puelbo, Colorado, after the ban on workplace smoking took effect. The rate of heart attacks dropped from 257 per 100,000 people before the ban to 152 per 100,000 in the three years afterward.
This unhealthy habit can shorten your life with 10 years or more. On the long term, smoking may lead to heart disease, stroke, emphysema and other types of cancer. It also increases the risk of osteoporosis and can cause fertility problems.
