Report cards are in for how states are doing in preventing tobacco use, according to high standards of the American Lung Association.
Washington, D.C. received some of the best marks in the 2023 State of Tobacco Control report, while Virginia ranks in some of the worst in the country. 7News Health and Wellness Reporter Victoria Sanchez breaks down the grades.
The American Lung Association has a goal of eliminating the nation’s leading cause of preventable death. Around 480,000 people die each year from tobacco-related complications, according to the group.
The 136-page document evaluated the state's and the federal government’s laws and policies. There are five graded areas: tobacco prevention and cessation funding, smoke-free air, tobacco taxes, access to cessation services and the availability of flavored tobacco products.
Aleks Casper, Virginia’s director of Advocacy for the American Lung Association, told Sanchez she wasn’t surprised by the Commonwealth’s failing scores.
As a mother of two, Casper said a big push is to get kid-friendly flavors off the market for good.
“They’re more palatable, right? Strawberry, gummy bear. We know that especially youth are drawn to our flavored tobacco products. About 85 percent of our youth report starting with a flavored tobacco product. There are proposed rules to eliminate flavored tobacco products at the federal level,” she explained.
Those proposed rules are the FDA’s plan to eliminate menthol cigarettes and flavored cigars. States can pass their own laws regarding this. D.C. already prohibits flavored tobacco products. Maryland and Virginia have no laws restricting flavored tobacco products.
When it comes to the cigarette tax rate, the Lung Association gave D.C. an “A”, Maryland a “C”, and Virginia an “F." The District has the highest cigarette tax in the country with $4.50 added to each pack of 20. Maryland’s rate is $3.75 per pack and Virginia's is just $0.60.