Other Policy

Reports

Annual report: The 1998 State Tobacco Settlement 14 years later
The Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids (CTFK) has released a new report that provides detailed data on state funding of tobacco prevention and cessation. According to the Master Settlement Agreement, states are receiving about $246 billion over 25 years in compensation for the health impact of tobacco use. States have only spent 1.8% ($459.5 million) of the $25.7 billion in funds obtained in the 2012 Fiscal Year on combating tobacco use. Additionally, states have failed in fiscal year 2013 to reverse the 36% cut in tobacco prevention funding that occurred from FY 2008 to FY 2012, and are not funding tobacco prevention programs at levels recommended by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). Alaska and North Dakota are the only states that are spending their funds according to the CDC’s recommendations, and only three other states are funding tobacco prevention and cessation programs at even half the recommended levels.  The lack of state funding for tobacco prevention programs is a missed opportunity to improve public health, and reduce tobacco-related healthcare costs. Click here to read more. Click here to read the press release from the CTFK regarding this report. Click here to access the full report including an interactive map that provides state-by-state data.

New Lung Association report shows policies needed to help smokers quit
The American Lung Association (ALA) has released a new report that proposes that more work is needed from state and federal governments to assist in smoking cessation. The annual “Helping Smokers Quit” report examines each state’s tobacco cessation coverage as well as federal coverage under the Affordable Care Act (ACA). The report highlights variations in coverage from state to state, and suggests that the federal government overlooked opportunities to provide better cessation coverage under the ACA. Helping tobacco users quit saves lives and money, and providing easy, affordable access to cessation programs and treatment is effective in assisting tobacco users to quit. Click here to read more about this report. Click here to access the full report, and click here for ALA’s press release. Related: Online toolkit on the ACA and tobacco control In conjunction with the Helping Smokers Quit report, ALA has released a toolkit with fact sheets, template letters, and other helpful tools that can be used to communicate about opportunities within the ACA to provide cessation support to tobacco users. To access the toolkit, click here.

Implementation of tobacco cessation coverage under the Affordable Care Act: Understanding how private health insurance policies cover tobacco cessation treatments
The Georgetown University Health Policy Institute, with funding from the Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids, has published a report which concludes that many private insurance plans are failing to provide coverage for smoking cessation treatment as required by the Affordable Care Act. The authors recommend that federal and state regulators give insurers detailed guidance on what tobacco cessation coverage is required under the ACA. Click here for a related press release from CTFK.

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State Policy

Alabama's largest employer to stop hiring smokers, dippers and chewers (AL)
The University of Alabama Medical Center (UAB), Alabama’s largest employer, has announced that all new hires will have to be nonsmokers. Beginning July 1, 2013, UAB will only consider applicants for employment who do not smoke, suck/dip, chew, or snuff any tobacco product. Prospective applicants will be tested for nicotine during the pre-employment drug screening, and anyone who tests positive for nicotine use will not be hired. This new policy does not apply to current employees, only new hires, and UAB plans to increase tobacco cessation programs to assist current tobacco users in quitting. Approximately 2% of the medical facilities in the U.S. have implemented similar tobacco-free policies regarding new hires. Click here to read more.

More employers demand applicants quit smoking (OH)
Several businesses in Ohio are refusing to hire smokers. A few hospitals and a casino have implemented no-smoker hiring policies in efforts to improve the health of their employees and reduce healthcare costs. However, there have been legal and ethical questions as to whether such policies infringe on personal rights. Ohio is the only state where casinos are smoke-free, and casinos have implemented other services to improve the health of employees such as providing healthier foods in the cafeteria and a gym to enable them to exercise. Legally, each state has the power to make decisions regarding the rights of smokers in the workplace, and Ohio is an at-will employment state. Therefore, companies can hire or fire an employee for any reason that isn’t covered under existing laws, such as those against discrimination; however, smoking is not addressed in Ohio’s discrimination laws. According to a representative from the American Lung Association in Ohio, such hiring practices can provide an incentive for smokers to quit, but her organization focuses on educating employers about the need to provide smokers with cessation tools and support. Click here to read more.

New Vermont tobacco legislation bans e-cigarette sales to minors and extends display restrictions (VT)
On May 16, 2012, Vermont Governor Peter Shumlin signed Act No. 166, which prohibits the sale of electronic cigarettes (“e-cigarettes”) to persons under the age of 18 years old, strengthens restrictions on the display of e-cigarettes, requires that some little cigars be sold in packages of 20 or more, and prohibits the possession of commercial cigarette rolling machines for commercial purposes. Overall, these changes should reduce the accessibility and social acceptability of tobacco products to minors, including emerging products such as e-cigarettes. Click here to read more, or click here to read Act 166.

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International

Plain cigarette packaging begins in Australia (Australia)
The Australian government now requires all tobacco products to be sold in plain packaging. Tobacco companies have long fought against the passage of this law, but the policy has officially been implemented, effective December 1. Several problems have occurred where tobacco companies have filed lawsuits, pursued challenges under international trade agreements, or attempted to circumvent this law by submitting packages with text, fonts, and other packaging errors that do not meet the law’s specifications. Studies show that plain packaging of cigarettes is associated with helping people quit smoking. Click here to read more in The Lancet.

Brazil's smoking population reduced by half (Brazil)
A recent study published in PLoS Medicine discusses Brazil’s dramatic reduction of its smoking rate due to the implementation of several strong tobacco control policies. Researchers utilized the SimSmoke tobacco control policy model to estimate the effect of past policies and stricter future policies on smoking prevalence in Brazil. From 1989 to 2010, the smoking prevalence among males and females dropped by about 46%. About half of this reduction was explained by tobacco price increases, with the remaining decline linked to smoke-free air laws (14%), marketing restrictions (14%), cessation treatment programs (10%), health warnings (8%), and mass media campaigns (6%). Additionally, almost 420,000 deaths have been prevented since 1989. This study provides evidence that tobacco control policies significantly reduced the smoking prevalence in Brazil, and that other low- and middle-income countries could achieve comparable results using similar tactics. Click here to read the study abstract and full report.

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