This week, the American Lung Association (ALA) released its 2022 State of Tobacco Control report. The annual report aims to measure the effectiveness of tobacco control laws and find areas where improvement is needed to reduce the death and disease caused by tobacco.
This year’s report gave Texas an “F” grade in all five categories measured. The categories are; funding for state tobacco prevention programs, smoke-free air laws, state tobacco taxes and coverage, access to services to quit tobacco, and ending the sale of all flavored tobacco products.
The report states that the CDC recommends that Texas spend about $264 million per year funding tobacco prevention programs. ALA’s report found that Texas’s actual funding towards this is significantly below the recommendation at just under $4 million annually.
“Now, I’ll note no state does a great job at funding,” said Charlie Gagen, director of advocacy at the American Lung Association “But Texas can certainly do better as we’re near the bottom and receive a failing grade on this measure.”
One major concern for Texas, according to Gagen, is the high number of minors who obtain tobacco products.
“Even among middle schoolers, nearly 2% are smoking,” he said. “For high schoolers, that’s 20%. That’s why we need more programs to help prevent them from starting, more funds to hold retailers accountable because they’re the ones who have these products on their shelves…”
Minors primarily use flavored tobacco, and Texas has no state law or regulation against such products.
In last year’s Texas legislative sessions, a bill prohibiting all flavored tobacco products was filed but not approved.
One tobacco-related bill that did pass was Senate Bill 248. The law went into effect on September 1, 2021. It requires that all retailers who sell e-cigarettes obtain a license from the state comptroller. The law also increased the penalties for selling tobacco products to anyone under the age of 21.
The American Lung Association’s report also recommends that Texas create a comprehensive statewide policy on smoke-free air laws. Currently, local ordinances that prohibit smoking in bars, restaurants, and workplaces are in effect in localities covering just 44.2% of the state’s population. Dallas and Fort Worth both have local ordinances of that nature.
According to Gagen, statewide action is needed. He approximates that 30% of Texans are exposed to deadly amounts of secondhand cigarette smoke.
As for taxes, the report states that Texas brings in nearly $1.9 billion a year in tobacco-related revenue. Still, the ALA report recommends that Texas’ current tax of $1.41 per pack of 20 cigarettes is too low and should be increased by $1.00 or more.
According to the report, the District of Columbia has the highest tax at $4.50 per pack of 20 cigarettes. New York and Connecticut are tied for second with the taxation of $4.35.
As for access to services to quit tobacco, Texas gets an F due to some barriers to access under the state’s Medicaid program and state employee health plans. The report states that Texas spends an average of .53¢ per smoker on tobacco cessation services.
“We’ve certainly seen how important lung health is, and we know that tobacco use, that e-cigarette use damages your lungs,” Gagen said. “Texas needs to do more to protect every Texan’s lung health so that during this pandemic or the next pandemic, our lungs are healthy and ready to fight those viruses.”
