ST. LOUIS — Missouri improved from last year but still scored very poorly on the American Lung Association's latest State of Tobacco Control Report that came out Wednesday morning.
Here's the breakdown of Missouri's scores:
- Tobacco Prevention and Control Funding: F. Providing little state funding for tobacco prevention, costing the state $3 billion in healthcare annually.
- Tobacco Taxes: F. Lowest cigarette tax in the country, at 17 cents per pack.
- Access to Cessation Services: D. Improved comprehensive coverage without barriers for all tobacco cessation medication.
- Smokefree Air: F. Made strides by passing comprehensive local smokefree ordinances that affect 30 percent of the population.
- Minimum Age: F.
The single improvement came in the access to cessation services category, which improved to a D from an F.
Missouri is one of the worst-graded states in the country when it comes to tobacco policies. The report outlines ways the state can prioritize public health over the tobacco industry and eliminate e-cigarettes.
Brett Schuette, Missouri Executive Director of the American Lung Association, said Missouri has a long way to go before we see significant improvements when controlling tobacco.
The results are especially concerning to Schuette, who says our youth are very much at risk. Vaping has increased by 135% since 2017, the study says. One in four high school students vape and one out of three use tobacco products.
“We have those issues now because e-cigarettes can turn e-cigarette users -- because it has nicotine in it -- into smokers in the future, which can have long term ramifications as they get older in life," Schuette said.
Vaping numbers don’t have a great impact on grades, but it could if Missouri had tighter restrictions on e-cig usage.
Across the river, Illinois scored much better.
They have higher tobacco taxes, which is a direct correlation to fewer people using tobacco, especially younger people.
“When it comes to taxes, the higher the taxes on a pack of cigarettes the less likely it is for a younger generation to purchase cigarettes,” Schuette said. “If we can keep our youth away from cigarettes, if we can get it to where they don’t try tobacco before the age of 18 we have a much greater chance of not being a tobacco user in the future.”
Schuette wants to see smoke-free laws enacted and an increase in funding for tobacco control policies in order to score a better report next year.
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