Anti-smoking advocates say NY underfunding preventive smoking measures
By Kelly Fay
Anti-smoking advocates say the state is not doing enough to prevent New Yorkers from lighting up. Fifty years after the Surgeon General's Office released the first report on Smoking and Health, the American Lung Association of the Northeast released the annual State of Tobacco Control report requesting more resources and smoke-free policy changes.
The organization released their twelfth report early last week, ranking states on their prevention and control spending, smoking restrictions, tobacco tax and funding for cessation and preventative measures.
"New York received an A for our smoke free air and an A for our cigarette tax, but what continues to cause us the most concerned and what thwarts our overall efforts to save lives is the F grades New York received for tobacco control funding and for cessation," Jeff Seyler, president of the American Lung Association of the Northeast, said. "Taken together these grades illustrate that New York has not made the significant progress needed to save lives and reduce healthcare costs."
The report noted New York cut $2 million of preventative measures and cessation funding in 2013. The report also drew attention to the gap between spending for anti-smoking efforts and tobacco companies, which funnel half a million dollars a day into advertisements.
http://www.legislativegazette.com/Articles-Top-Stories-c-2014-01-22-86490.113122-Antismoking-advocates-say-NY-underfunding-preventive-smoking-measures.html