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WV GETS 'F' FOR SPENDING TOBACCO PREVENTION FUNDS - Most Regional Counties Got "A" For Smoke Free Rules, Gilmer Gets "F" |
| (01/19/2013) |
| West Virginia is failing to adequately fund the fight to prevent citizens from using tobacco according to the American Lung Association's State of Tobacco Control 2013 report. The state received a "F" across the board in four areas the study covers: in funding for tobacco prevention and control programs, in smoke free air, in cigarette taxes and in cessation coverage. West Virginia receives $231 million in tobacco-related revenue annually from a settlement, but only invests $5.7 million to the West Virginia Department of Health and Human Resources to be spent on tobacco prevention and cessation programs. That amount is well below the $27.8 million investment the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommends. The state uses the money to fund other programs and to balance the state's budget. "When you consider that tobacco is costing the state about $690 million a year just in health care costs for smokers, the $27.8 that we should be getting is pennies comparatively," said Chantal Fields with the American Lung Association. Fields says that the recommended $27.8 million would do a great deal in lowering the health care costs the state incurs each year for smokers. In ALA report said twenty counties earned "A" grades, 19 earned "B" grades, 10 earned "C" grades and the remaining 6 counties received "F" grades. Calhoun, Braxton, Wirt, Roane, Ritchie earned "A" rating based on the strength of smoking regulations in nearly all public places and workplaces. Clay got a "B" and Gilmer got an "F." Tobacco causes an estimated 3,821 deaths in West Virginia annually.
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