Delaware Earns an A for smoke-free air, an F for helping smokers quit

Jan 12, 2010 — Dover Post

Wilmington, Del. -

Delaware earned an A for maintaining clean, smoke-free indoor air, but an F for cessation coverage offered via Medicaid and for state employees, according to the American Lung Association’s 2009 State of Tobacco Control report.

The report was released Tuesday, Jan. 12.

“Delaware’s well-deserved ‘A’ is based on its extremely comprehensive prohibition on smoking in indoor public places,” said Lung Association of the Mid Atlantic CEO Deborah P. Brown.

“Smokers and non-smokers alike in Delaware are realizing the health benefits.

“But Medicaid recipients and state employees who decide they’re ready to quit get minimal support,” she added. “The state’s cessation policies leave smokers to their own devices, and the barriers make it impossible for many.”

The ALA’s annual State of Tobacco Control report, grades each state and the District of Columbia on the strength of their tobacco policies. The report grades smoke-free air laws, cigarette tax rates, funding of tobacco prevention and control programs, and coverage of cessation treatments and services, such as nicotine patches, support groups, and other programs to help smokers quit.

Six states — Alabama, Kentucky, Missouri, South Carolina, Virginia and West Virginia — received all Fs. No state earned straight As in the State of Tobacco Control 2009.

In addition to its A for air quality and F for supporting smokers who want to quit, Delaware also earned a B for its funding of tobacco prevention and control programs, and a C for its cigarette taxation rate.

Delaware’s C reflects the state’s average cigarette tax rate, which increased from $1.15 to $1.60 per pack in July, 2009. Only four states – A, B, C and D – qualified for an A in this category by imposing cigarette excise taxes of $2.68 or more.

Delaware earned a B for its funding of tobacco prevention and control programs because the state does not meet the spending guidelines established by the Centers for Disease Control & Protection (CDC). The CDC recommends that Delaware spend $13.9 million on tobacco control and prevention in 2010, and the state’s budget allows for only $10.7 million.

Tobacco-related illness remains the number-one preventable cause of death in the U.S. and is responsible for an estimated 1,200 deaths in Delaware. Tobacco-related illness kills more than 393,000 Americans each year.

The economic costs in Delaware due to smoking are more than $678 million annually and cost the nation $193 billion annually. Another 50,000 Americans die from exposure to secondhand smoke.

The U.S. Surgeon General has declared that there is no safe level of exposure to secondhand smoke.