Virginia gets failing grades in policies to prevent tobacco-related diseases, according to one public health group that is pushing for an indoor smoking ban and higher cigarette taxes in the upcoming General Assembly session.
In its annual report card on state tobacco-control programs, the American Lung Association gave Virginia failing grades on tobacco prevention spending, smoke-free air policies, cigarette taxes and support for smoking-cessation programs.
Six other states — Alabama, Kentucky, Missouri, North Carolina, South Carolina and West Virginia — received failing grades from the association in all those categories.
"It is a wake-up call to Virginia that we need to save health care dollars and improve the health of our citizens," said David DeBiasi, director of advocacy for the American Lung Association of Virginia. "Tobacco-related disease is the number one preventable cause of death. It is a huge contributor to the health care mess that we are in."
The group gave Virginia failing grades because the state's spending on tobacco control — about $13.5 million in fiscal 2009 — is about 13 percent of the $103 million minimum the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommends to prevent children from using tobacco.
The lung association also said Virginia's 30-cent-per-pack cigarette tax, the fourth-lowest in the nation, should be closer to the national average of $1.19 per pack.
Gov. Timothy M. Kaine is proposing doubling the state's cigarette tax from 30 cents to 60 cents per pack, and he is proposing legislation to ban smoking in all indoor areas of restaurants. Kaine's proposals have drawn criticism from the tobacco industry and business groups, which argue the tax increase unfairly targets one industry and the smoking ban would interfere with private business decisions.
Democrats in Congress also reportedly hope to pass legislation that would increase the federal cigarette tax by 61 cents to $1 a pack to fund a children's health-insurance program.
The lung association and a coalition of other health groups are backing Kaine's proposals but are lobbying lawmakers to increase the cigarette tax to $1.20 per pack and ban smoking in most indoor public areas.
"Wherever there is an employee, we would like to see a smoke-free environment," said Melina Davis-Martin, president and chief executive officer of the American Lung Association of the Atlantic Coast. "Any employee should have a right to clean air."
Contact John Reid Blackwell at (804) 775-8123 or jblackwell@timesdispatch.com.
Copyright 2009  Richmond Times-Dispatch
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