Louisiana earned dismal grades on the American Lung Association’s latest “State of Tobacco Control” scorecard, receiving failing grades in four out of five areas the association says would help reduce tobacco use among the state’s residents.
The state earned F grades in funding state tobacco prevention programs, the level of state tobacco taxes, coverage and access to services to help smokers and tobacco user quit, and for its minimum age of sale for tobacco products.
The only bright spot on the report card is in the strength of Louisiana’s smoke-free workplace laws. The state earned a B grade in that area.
“Tobacco use is a serious addiction, and the fact that 22.8 percent of Louisiana residents are current smokers highlights how much work remains to be done in our communities to prevent and reduce tobacco use,” American Lung Association Southeast Region Executive Vice President Martha Bogdan says in a statement.
Nationally smoking rates are declining even though it contributes to the deaths of 480,000 Americans per year, the association says. It’s urging Gov. John Bel Edwards and Louisiana policymakers to do more to strengthen the existing statewide smoke-free air law to include bar and casino worker protections and sustain tobacco prevention and cessation funding.
“Louisiana elected officials must act to implement these proven policies, which will prevent tobacco-caused death and disease, and help keep our lungs healthy,” Bogdan says.
The association also is encouraging the state to use more dollars received from tobacco settlement payments and taxes to prevent tobacco use and help smokers quit.
The Metro Council approved a smoking ban at Baton Rouge casinos and bars in October, and it will go into effect in June.
