"States lag in tobacco prevention funding, report asserts" by Michael Felberbaum | Associated Press, May 25, 2012
RICHMOND, Va. - States have spent only about 3 percent of the billions they have received in tobacco taxes and legal settlements over the last decade to fund tobacco prevention programs, according to a report released Thursday by the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
Between 1998 and 2010, states have collected nearly $244 billion in cigarette taxes and settlement money, compared with only $8.1 billion earmarked for state tobacco control efforts. The numbers are far less than the minimum of $29.2 billion the CDC said should have been spent over that same period.
Related: Alphabet Agency: CDC Protects the Kids
Yup.
Also see: Alphabet Agency: USDA Dinner
Mmmmm, good, huh?
While states on average have never spent as much as the CDC would like, the total has declined dramatically in recent years as states grapple with budget deficits that have forced layoffs, furloughs, and cuts for basic services. Many also have raised tobacco taxes in order to increase revenue and supplement funds provided by the tobacco industry....
Woah!!
Now where are all the bodies dead of pot and other illegal drugs? In the tens of thousands? Add legal prescription drug deaths to tobacco and you are over half-a-million.
If you will excuse me, readers, I need to go have a smoke to clear my head.
If states were to use a greater portion of the tax and settlement money for tobacco control and prevention programs, they could achieve larger, more rapid reductions in tobacco use and health-care costs, as well as lower tobacco-related death and disease, the report said.
“We understand that there are severe financial pressures and that they have difficult choices to make,’’ CDC Director Dr. Thomas Frieden said in a telephone interview with the Associated Press. “Not investing in tobacco control is not only penny wise and pound foolish, but it’s also costing lives.’’
Doesn't seem to matter much when the spending comes to wars.
According to the report, states that have spent larger amounts on tobacco control programs have seen cigarette sales fall about twice as much as in the United States overall. Smoking prevalence also has declined faster as anti-tobacco spending increased in states like Arizona, California, Massachusetts, Minnesota, Maine, New York, Oregon, and Washington, the report said. However, other factors like smoking bans also could have contributed to those reductions.
And here's a thought as I'm finishing my cigarette: why are we looking to prevent tobacco use here while threatening other nations with sanctions if they don't take our cancer sticks?
Frieden said that while states are lacking in prevention funding, tobacco companies continue to spend billions on marketing. The industry spent $10.5 billion to market their products in 2008, the most recent year tracked by the Federal Trade Commission. In that same year, state anti-tobacco funding was about $779 million, according to the report.
Smoke 'em if you got 'em.
“The tobacco companies are out there doing everything they can do, and they have gobs of money to do it,’’ said Stanton Glantz, who directs the Center for Tobacco Control Research and Education at the University of California, San Francisco.
“You don’t need to meet them dollar for dollar, you just need to be out there with enough to counter them. . . . It’s easier to sell the truth than a lie.’’
No wonder the newspaper industry and AmeriKan media in general are self-imploding as the blogs thrive.
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And now they want another puff?
"California voters face cigarette tax fight" June 04, 2012
LOS ANGELES - California has some of the toughest antismoking laws in the country - it is illegal, in some places, to smoke in your own apartment....
Not even Hitler went that far!
But for all the disdain toward smoking here, it has been 14 years since California raised its cigarette tax, a tribute to the power of the tobacco industry here and the waning of this state’s antitobacco dominance.
That may be about to change. An array of health and anticancer groups has rallied behind a ballot initiative to impose a $1-a-pack cigarette tax to finance cancer research. The current tax of 87 cents is about half the national average and ranks 33rd in the nation.
The move to increase the tax has provoked a $47 million storm of ads, overwhelmingly financed by the tobacco industry, which is outspending proponents by nearly four to one to defeat the biggest threat it has faced in more than a decade.
Then proponents are keeping up pretty good!
An independent poll released two weeks ago signaled the power of the assault: While a majority of California voters still say they support Proposition 29, as it is known, the percentage has dropped markedly since the campaign began, according to the Public Policy Institute of California poll. The vote will be held Tuesday.
The latest frontier in the fight against smoking is a very unlikely place: a state that has long been identified with championing restrictions on smoking.
The battle has drawn national attention - Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg of New York contributed $500,000 to the initiative, and Lance Armstrong, the bicycling champion and cancer survivor, has become its chief public advocate - reflecting the frustration of antismoking groups on their defeats here. The Legislature has voted down more than 30 attempts to raise cigarette taxes in 30 years.
Just wondering why Bloomberg is sticking his butt into your business, Californian.
“You think of California as a healthy, progressive state leading in tobacco cessation,’’ said Chris Lehman, one of the organizers behind the initiative. “It’s just not. And it’s not for lack of trying.’’
I don't think that of any state now, not when it is both Repuglicans and Democraps slashing social services and screwing workers so big banks can be paid debt interest and so corporations can suck on the public teat.
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The tax, which would raise an estimated $735 million, is being voted on as California is reeling from a new wave of bad budget news. Governor Jerry Brown said last month that the state faces a $16 billion deficit, and proposed a round of severe spending cuts to deal with it.
But none of the $735 million would go to close the deficit. Organizers argued that the tax would have less chance of passing if voters thought it would go into the state coffers, and said their only goal here was cutting down on smoking. Raising the cost of tobacco has proved to be the most effective way of discouraging smoking, particularly among teenagers.
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Get Calif budget:
"California leaders unveil budget deal" by JUDY LIN | Associated Press, June 22, 2012
SACRAMENTO — Governor Jerry Brown and Democratic leaders reached agreement Thursday to finalize California’s budget.
Is Brown a Democrat or Republican, and why the vague omission by the AmeriKan media?
The plan protects education, permanently reforms welfare, and
includes tough ongoing cuts, Brown said in a statement announcing the
framework of the agreement with Assembly Speaker John A. Perez and
Senate President Pro Tem Darrell Steinberg....
And you thought Democraps were your friend.
Although Democrats passed the main budget bill on a majority vote last week, the governor pressed for deeper cuts to welfare and other social services amid a projected $15.7 billion shortfall....
And you thought Democraps were your....
And you thought Democraps were your friend.
Although Democrats passed the main budget bill on a majority vote last week, the governor pressed for deeper cuts to welfare and other social services amid a projected $15.7 billion shortfall....
And you thought Democraps were your....
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Related: California Bankruptcies
And the people said... ??
"Calif. voters reject tobacco tax hike" Associated Press, June 23, 2012
SACRAMENTO — A California initiative to increase the tax on tobacco to pay for cancer research has failed by less than a percentage point after remaining too close to call for more than two weeks....
The plan to add $1 to the cigarette tax was led by cyclist Lance Armstrong, a cancer survivor.
I heard he was also a cheater.
Tobacco companies, led by Philip Morris, poured millions of dollars into an ad campaign that whittled away support. Polls showed approval peaked around two-thirds in March but had fallen dramatically by the June 5 balloting.
Support for the initiative was strongest in the San Francisco Bay Area, while more conservative places such as Southern California’s Inland Empire opposed it.
Proponents said they would be back.
What is it about “democracy that these groups don’t understand?’’
‘‘This came so close, I think this is worth another try,’’ said Stan Glantz of the University of California, San Francisco’s Center for Tobacco Control Research and Education. ‘‘I think it would be horrible if Philip Morris and Reynolds get away with this.’’
Do you understand what the word NO means?
He suggested tobacco foes might turn to the Legislature, though lawmakers routinely reject attempts to raise tobacco taxes....
Bought of by -- cough, cough -- you know who.
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Up in Smoke, readers.
