November 2009 Archives

The following is a statement by Matthew L. Myers, President, Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids:

Governor David Paterson's decision to cut an additional $10 million out of the funding for New York state's effective and successful tobacco prevention program is shortsighted and in the long run will cost lives and money. It is a genuinely penny wise and pound foolish decision. New York state's tobacco prevention program has had dramatic success dropping smoking rates for both kids and adults well below the national average. It is saving lives and saving New York's taxpayers money.

Just six years ago in 2003, New York's adult smoking rate stood at 21.6 percent, right at the national average. But the state wisely invested in an evidence-based tobacco prevention and cessation program, increased its tobacco tax, and passed a strong smoke-free law. The result of that prudent investment has never been more evident than two weeks ago when the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention announced that the national adult smoking rate had gone up for the first time in several years to 20.6 percent. At the same time, New York state smoking rates for adults dropped to 16.8 percent, well below the national rate, while smoking rates for kids in New York state dropped to an astonishing 13.8 percent, also well below the national rate. New York state's exemplary work in bringing down smoking rates could be undone in a hurry if Governor Paterson's budget ax is allowed to fall.

Last year, the budget for tobacco prevention in New York state was cut by $17 million dollars and that was bad enough. Now the Governor is proposing an additional $10 million dollar cut and there is no guarantee that further cuts are not just around the corner. If Governor Paterson's plan is implemented, it will almost certainly decimate one of the most successful programs the State of New York maintains.

While these are indeed tough budget times, it makes no sense to cut a program that is saving lives and healthcare dollars and that has already been severely cut. It does make sense to spend just a small fraction of the more than $2 billion New York collects in tobacco settlement payments and tobacco taxes to fund this vital program.

Even with the success of New York state's tobacco prevention efforts, there is still an uphill battle ongoing to drive down smoking related costs in the state. The sad reality is that 25,400 New Yorkers die annually from smoking- related disease, and more than 20,000 New York kids become regular smokers each year.. And healthcare costs associated with tobacco use in New York state amount to a staggering $8.17 billion annually.

Instead of cutting New York state's budget for tobacco prevention, Governor Paterson should do everything in his power to restore the cuts already made and hold out New York's tobacco prevention efforts as an outstanding example of a government program that works. If he chooses to hold to his current plan, he deserves all the opprobrium he will almost certainly get from legislators, media, and the citizens of the State of New York.

SOURCE Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids

A Broward Circuit Court Jury returned a $300 million verdict against Philip Morris USA within hours of closing arguments this afternoon in favor of Cindy Naugle, the sister of Jim Naugle, a former mayor of Fort Lauderdale, Florida. Naugle, 61, who stopped smoking in 1993, smoked her first cigarette in 1968 when she was twenty years old because she thought they "made her look older." She told the jury that had she known then what the tobacco companies already knew, but had concealed, namely that nicotine is a highly-additive drug and cigarettes were considered by Philip Morris to be a "drug delivery device," she never would have taken that first puff. The jury assessed $56.6 million against Philip Morris for Naugle's past and future medical expenses as well as for her pain and suffering. It also assessed punitive damages in the amount of $244 million to punish the company for its misconduct. The jury also found Ms. Naugle was 10% responsible because of her decision to start smoking.

Ms. Naugle, who tried unsuccessfully to quit smoking for many years, now needs 24-hour oxygen and must travel in a wheelchair because the simple act of walking leaves her exhausted. "Cindy admitted her fault to the jury," said her attorney, Robert W. Kelley of the Fort Lauderdale law firm Kelley/Uustal. "But Philip Morris refused to accept any responsibility for her emphysema, even though she was an addicted customer for 25 years," he added.

Naugle was finally able to stop smoking in 1993 when the nicotine patch became available, after 25 years of heavy smoking. "The jury saw her condition. We think that they felt it. She needed to rest for five minutes to catch her breath after making the 7 step walk to the witness stand." said Attorney Todd Falzone, who along with Kelley and attorney Todd McPharlin, represented Naugle in the three-week trial. "Cindy spends every minute of every day as if she were drowning," said Kelley.

Ms. Naugle's lawsuit, one of the cases that have come to be known as the Engle Progeny cases, stems from the 2000 verdict in the Engle v. R.J. Reynolds Tobacco Co class action lawsuit. In 2006 the Florida Supreme Court de-certified the class allowing the way for individual plaintiffs, damaged by "Big Tobacco's" conduct to file individual lawsuits. Today's verdict is by far the largest verdict to date in those cases.

Kelley went on to say: "The cigarette companies managed to hide the truth about their product for a long time, but the truth is out now. And when the jury finally hears the truth about what these companies knew and when they knew it, they almost always side with the addicted smokers, most of whom started smoking as teenagers before there were any warning labels on cigarette packs." Kelley predicts the industry is in for a long series of losses because "most Americans are fed-up with corporate fraud and misconduct."

The former Mayor was with his sister throughout the long trial, assisting with her oxygen needs and helping her get in and out of the courtroom.

Attorneys from Kelley/Uustal representing Ms. Naugle included: Robert W. Kelley, Todd R. Falzone, and Todd R. McPharlin.

SOURCE Kelley / Uustal

The following is a statement from Matthew L. Myers, President, Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids:

Massachusetts today announced extraordinary results from its aggressive efforts to help Medicaid beneficiaries quit smoking by providing easy access to coverage for smoking cessation medication and counseling.

Massachusetts reported that smoking rates among beneficiaries in its MassHealth program plunged by 26 percent in the first two and a half years after the state began providing coverage of smoking cessation in July 2006. Costly medical procedures among those who utilized the cessation benefit also fell dramatically. Among benefit users, there were 38 percent fewer hospitalizations for heart attacks and 17 percent fewer emergency-room visits for asthma symptoms in the first year after using the benefit. There were 17 percent fewer claims for maternal birth complications since the benefit was implemented, state health officials reported.

Massachusetts is leading the way in demonstrating that health insurance coverage for smoking cessation quickly improves health and saves lives, and no doubt reduces health care costs as well. These findings have major implications as Congress debates health care reform. They underscore why Congress should require health care coverage for smoking cessation, including for everyone in Medicaid. The House-passed health reform bill does so, and the Senate should as well. Health care reform should also provide robust funding for community-based prevention initiatives, including tobacco prevention and cessation campaigns that prevent kids from starting to smoke and encourage smokers to quit.

It is also critical that Massachusetts increase funding for its tobacco prevention and cessation programs. As Massachusetts reported today, its new cessation benefit was coupled with an aggressive promotion campaign run by the Massachusetts Tobacco Cessation and Prevention Program that included radio and transit advertising and extensive community outreach. Unfortunately, Massachusetts in the past two years has cut funding for its tobacco prevention and cessation program by 65 percent. Including a federal grant, funding this year is just $6.1 million, which is less than seven percent of the $90 million recommended by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). To continue reducing tobacco use, Massachusetts must increase funding for tobacco prevention and cessation.

Medicaid coverage of smoking cessation is critical as smoking is much more prevalent among lower-income Americans than in the population as a whole. The CDC reported last week that, in 2008, 31.5 percent of adults living below the federal poverty level smoked, compared to 20.6 percent of all adults. Medicaid costs attributable to smoking total $22 billion annually, and represent 11 percent of all Medicaid expenditures, according to the CDC. Yet, according to another recent CDC study, only six states in 2007 provided the recommended full coverage of all tobacco-dependence treatments (FDA-approved medications and counseling) to help smokers quit.

Tobacco use is the leading preventable cause of death in the United States, killing more than 400,000 Americans and costing $96 billion in health care bills each year. The new Massachusetts results demonstrate once again that we know how to dramatically reduce tobacco use and its devastating toll in health, lives and dollars. What's needed is a political commitment to implement proven solutions, including health care coverage for smoking cessation and aggressive, well-funded tobacco prevention and cessation programs.

SOURCE Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids

The following is a statement by Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids President Matthew L. Meyers:

The government's report today that adult smoking declines have stalled since 2004 is an urgent warning to elected officials that it is premature to declare victory over tobacco and much more must be done to continue reducing tobacco use, which remains the number one preventable cause of death in the United States.

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the adult smoking rate in 2008 was 20.6 percent - essentially unchanged since 2004, when 20.9 percent smoked. In fact, the 2008 survey found a small but disturbing uptick in the percentage of smokers, from 19.8 percent in 2007. While the CDC said this increase was not statistically significant, it is the first increase in the adult smoking rate since 1994.

There is no question that we know how to significantly reduce tobacco use, as demonstrated by sharp reductions in adult smoking over the past several decades and a remarkable 45 percent reduction in high school smoking since 1997 (from a peak of 36.4 percent to 20 percent in 2007). But it is also clear from the recent stall in progress that elected officials at all levels must redouble efforts to implement scientifically proven strategies that prevent kids from smoking, help smokers quit and protect everyone from secondhand smoke. The challenge today is to resist complacency and finally fight tobacco use with the political will and the resources that match the scope of the problem.

Congress and President Obama have taken major strides this year by approving a 62-cent increase in the federal cigarette tax and enacting the new law granting the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) authority to regulate tobacco products and marketing. The 2008 data released today does not reflect the impact of the federal cigarette tax increase, which took effect on April 1 of this year. There is evidence that the cigarette tax increase has already had a significant impact. Cigarette manufacturers reported a 10 percent decline in cigarette sales in the third quarter of this year, and calls by smokers to smoking cessation quitlines increased dramatically following the tax increase.

However, there is much more that must be done at all levels of government:

• The pending health care reform legislation presents Congress with an immediate opportunity for action. It is vital that health care reform include robust funding for community-based prevention initiatives, including tobacco prevention and cessation, that prevent costly diseases. Congress should also require that private and public insurance plans, including Medicaid, cover tobacco cessation services for all beneficiaries. Today's report revealed that almost half of current smokers tried to quit in the past year but were unable to do so successfully. Providing evidence-based interventions will help them succeed. The House-passed health care reform bill achieves these goals, and the Senate bill should as well. With these actions, health care reform can be the first step toward putting in place a national campaign to prevent children from starting to smoke and help smokers quit.
• States must invigorate their efforts to implement three proven strategies to reduce tobacco use: higher tobacco taxes, smoke-free workplace laws and well-funded tobacco prevention and cessation programs. Most states have woefully underfunded their tobacco prevention programs, and in the past year, many have cut them substantially due to fiscal crises. Rather than take these backward steps, states should hike tobacco taxes to help fill budget gaps and use some of the revenue to fund tobacco prevention and cessation programs.
  

Why have smoking declines stalled in recent years? The CDC and other experts have cited several factors, including deep discounts used by tobacco companies to offset tax increases, significant increases in overall tobacco marketing since the 1998 state tobacco settlement and cuts to state tobacco prevention and cessation programs.

It's really very simple. When we increase tobacco prices and fund tobacco prevention and cessation programs, smoking rates go down. When prices stay flat and programs are cut, rates go up. Between 1997 and 2004, the average real (inflation-adjusted) retail price of a pack of cigarettes increased by 63 percent, while adult smoking declined by 15.3 percent. Between 2004 and 2008, the real price of cigarettes increased by just 2 percent, while adult smoking declined by just 1.4 percent (source of price data: The Tax Burden on Tobacco, 2008). Likewise, studies have shown a dose-response relationship between spending on tobacco prevention and cessation programs and both youth and adult smoking declines.

Tobacco use causes more than 400,000 preventable deaths each year and costs the nation nearly $200 billion in health expenditures and lost productivity. The cost of tobacco use in health, lives and dollars is too steep to allow backsliding. We know what works to reduce tobacco use among both youths and adults. What's needed is the political will to implement these solutions as aggressively as the tobacco industry promotes its deadly products.

The CDC report, published in the November 13, 2009, issue of the CDC Journal Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report, can be found at www.cdc.gov/mmwr.

SOURCE Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids

The impact of smoking on your health is well documented. But counselors at Consumer Credit Counseling Service (CCCS) of Greater Atlanta know that it can also wreak havoc on a person's financial health. Whether it's helping people struggling with credit card debt or trying to avoid foreclosure, counselors find that tobacco use adds a significant amount to monthly household expenditures and they advise consumers to consider reducing or quitting smoking to save money.

A pack-a-day smoker spending an average of $5.15 per pack could save $1,879 per year by quitting smoking. These funds could be used to cover living expenses, reduce household debt or start a savings plan. Invested in a basic savings plan paying just 3 percent interest, you would have in excess of $21,000 after 10 years. Over 30 years, that figure climbs to more than $91,000.

"Quitting smoking is good for more than just your physical health," said Michelle Jones, Senior Vice President of Counseling for CCCS of Greater Atlanta. "Reducing or eliminating tobacco use can significantly increase the amount of money consumers have to use to pay off outstanding debt."

Even homeowners struggling to make their mortgage payments and seeking a loan modification may be able to benefit by reducing or quitting smoking.

"Any reduction in spending will show the mortgage company that there is more income to put toward a homeowner's monthly budget," said Jones. "The better their budget looks, the more likely the lender is to offer a favorable workout, such as a loan modification."

This year's Great American Smokeout is November 19, but any day is a good day to give up smoking. "Our clients get a great deal of satisfaction when they quit smoking," added Jones. "It's a great first step in improving their physical and fiscal health."

The financial benefits of quitting extend beyond just the cost of cigarettes.

Increased Employment Opportunities and Productivity - Some employers have begun hiring only non-smoking employees or instituting "no smoking" policies in an effort to reduce overall health care costs and increase productivity.

Reduced Health Care and Insurance Costs - Non-smokers often enjoy lower health and life insurance premiums and general healthcare costs than smokers. In Georgia, state employees who smoke pay $40 more per month for health insurance than non-smokers. Many states have enacted similar policies for smokers, including higher deductibles and increased co-pay rates. Average life insurance premiums for smokers can be double that of non-smokers. Non-smokers may also be eligible for discounts on homeowners' insurance premiums.

Decreasing Values on Assets - According to Carmax, a used vehicle owned by a smoker will narrow the market of potential buyers and can result in lower trade-in or resale values than comparable vehicles owned by non-smokers. Similarly, general maintenance costs on a home are higher for smokers and a home that has been smoked in can be harder to sell.

For more information and tips to quit smoking, visit the American Lung Association at www.lungusa.org.

SOURCE Consumer Credit Counseling Service of Greater Atlanta

With the latest research estimating that nearly six million people worldwide will lose their lives to tobacco next year(1), an innovative approach is critical to helping the 43 million Americans who smoke to finally quit. This month, which is observed as Lung Cancer Awareness Month, the national quit smoking program, EX(R) will debut the second phase of advertising and promotions designed to help smokers "re-learn" life without cigarettes.

The campaign will begin airing this month on radio and cable television networks as well as online, in print and through ambient/out-of-home channels. EX is a national quit smoking campaign, sponsored by the National Alliance for Tobacco Cessation (NATC), a two-year old collaborative of state and national public health groups spearheaded by Legacy(SM), creators of the award-winning truth(R) youth smoking prevention campaign.

EX is more than an advertising campaign, it provides evidence-based tools to help smokers quit, including information that can help them prepare for a quit attempt by 1) "Re-learning" their thinking on the behavioral aspects of smoking and how different smoking triggers can be overcome with practice and preparation; 2) "Re-learning" their knowledge of addiction and how medications can increase their chances for quitting success; and 3) "Re-learning" their ideas of how support from friends and family members can play a critical role in quitting.

Because social support is so important, EX has used a state-of-the-art Web site (www.BecomeAnEX.org) as a convening point for smokers who want to quit and collaborate on their successes and challenges in the difficult quit process. Since March 2008, when the program first debuted, over a million people have visited the site and more than 14,000 smokers have joined the online community, forming nearly 300 customized support groups. EX tools were designed in collaboration with Mayo Clinic and with input from former and current smokers who have lived with this struggle, in order to provide smokers with a realistic approach based on evidence-based research.

Most smokers in America - 70 percent - want to quit, but in 2000, only about five percent of smokers were successful in quitting long-term. Quitting smoking is ultimately one of the single most important lifestyle changes one can make to improve and extend their lives. Tobacco is the leading cause of preventable death in the United States; smokers therefore need to be armed with all the available information to make the best, most informed choices about the smoking cessation medications and resources available to them.

The new EX ads have a heavy rotation with sports fans, who, according to one recent study, also have high smoking rates. Another new tack in this year's promotional strategy includes the creation of two spots that will be used only as unpaid public service announcements and will be placed as part of a partnership between Legacy and The Advertising Council.

"This year, there have been several historic changes in public policy related tobacco prevention and cessation, from the passage of the Children's Health Insurance Program Reauthorization Act increasing the Federal excise tax on tobacco to the Family Smoking Prevention and Control Act securing authority for the U.S. Food and Drug Administration to regulate tobacco. The movement to reduce the number of smokers in America is evolving," said Cheryl G. Healton, DrPH, President and CEO of Legacy. "What is yet to change are the financial resources available to help smokers quit, so we have had to become even more creative with our public education strategy and are confident that our PSA partnership with The Advertising Council will effectively supplement our past traditional paid media efforts in this campaign."

For the 2009 edition of the campaign, a major focus of the placements will be through partnerships with Major League Baseball on Fox, "Bassmasters" on ESPN2 and on radio through ABC and Sporting News Radio. The campaign will run from mid-Fall (November 1) through January, hopefully encouraging smokers to prepare to quit as their New Year's Resolution.

Descriptions of television spots:

Many smokers light up when they drive. At the beginning of "Spin," a man leaves his store for a smoke break. Cigarette in hand, he tries the doors of a few cars, before jumping into an idling delivery van and driving off. The voice over relates: "You don't drive every time you smoke; yet, you smoke every time you drive" and exhorts the viewer to "relearn life without cigarettes" at BecomeAnEx.org.

"Receptionist" is a look at the habit many people have of smoking while drinking alcohol. Cigarettes at the ready, a woman at her desk in an office setting crushes ice, chops strawberries and then blends the mixture while her coworkers all try to work. As she heads outside with her margarita, the voice over explains "You don't drink every time you smoke; yet, you smoke every time you drink" and offers that the viewer can "relearn life without cigarettes" at BecomeAnEx.org.

Creative for EX was produced by Austin, Texas-based GSD&M Idea City, the agency of record for Legacy's advertising on smoking cessation. New York City-based PHD conceptualized and implemented the media planning and buying strategy for the EX campaign.

In 2006-07, Legacy, the national public health foundation best known for its truth(R) youth-smoking prevention campaign pilot tested EX in four markets throughout the country: Buffalo, N.Y.; San Antonio, Texas; Grand Rapids, Mich.; and Baltimore, Md. A new study released in the September 2009 issue of Social Marketing Quarterly found that EX was a trusted and empathetic brand and that smokers who were thinking more about quitting or were more motivated to quit were significantly more receptive to the EX brand than those who had not yet reached that point in their quit process. As a result of the successful pilot program, in 2007, Legacy brought together several national organizations and several states to form the NATC and launch EX nationally. The NATC is a group of states, non-profit organizations, foundations and corporations, all dedicated to helping people quit smoking.

Founding members of the NATC include:

• The American Cancer Society
• The American Heart Association
• National Cancer Institute
• C-Change
• Legacy
• The Mayo Clinic
• The Rapides Foundation
• Robert Wood Johnson Foundation
• The Association of State and Health Territorial Health Officials (ASTHO)
• Arkansas Department of Health
• Arizona Department of Health Services Bureau of Tobacco Education and Prevention
• Connecticut Department of Public Health
• D.C. Tobacco Free Families, a partnership of D.C. Department of Health, American Lung Association of D.C., and the American Cancer Society
• Indiana Tobacco Prevention and Cessation
• Kentucky Tobacco Prevention and Cessation Program
• The Louisiana Campaign for Tobacco-Free Living
• Louisiana Department of Health and Hospitals Bureau of Primary Care and Rural Health Tobacco Control Program
• Missouri Foundation for Health
• New York Department of Health
• North Carolina Division of Public Health
• North Dakota Department of Health, Division of Tobacco Prevention & Control
• Oklahoma Tobacco Settlement Endowment Trust, Center for Health Promotions
• Oregon Public Health Division, Department of Human Services, Tobacco Prevention and Education Program
• Rhode Island Department of Health
• Vermont Department of Health
• Washington State Department of Health, Tobacco Prevention and Control Program
• Wyoming Department of Health
  

All of these organizations agree that while smokers may know why they should quit, many just don't know how. Therefore, EX steers away from focusing solely on the reasons for quitting and instead empowers smokers to use FREE resources and methods that have been proven to increase smokers' chances of quitting successfully.

EX(R) is a collaborative public health campaign presented by the National Alliance for Tobacco Cessation, a partnership of the nation's leading public health organizations and states. The campaign helps smokers prepare to quit and guides them to useful resources that foster successful quit attempts including the EX plan, a free personalized quit plan available on the campaign's Web site www.BecomeAnEX.org. EX is the culmination of several years of research and testing, combining an understanding of the power of nicotine addiction with messages that resonate with and motivate smokers toward behavior change. The EX approach is peer to peer and focuses on "re-learning life without cigarettes" by encouraging smokers to think differently about the process of quitting. The campaign, which began airing nationwide in March 2008, includes television, radio, online AND out-of-home advertising. The EX Web site helps smokers create their own individual plan to quit and connects them to a virtual community of other smokers where they can share stories and strategies about quitting. Founding members of the NATC include numerous states and the American Cancer Society, the American Heart Association, the National Cancer Institute, the American Legacy Foundation, C-Change, The Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, the Association of State and Territorial Health Officials (ASTHO) and clinical partner, the Mayo Clinic.

(1) Tobacco Atlas, American Cancer Society and World Lung Association, August 2009.

SOURCE American Legacy Foundation