Editor
Mar 28, 2013
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention is launching the second year of its “Tips from Former Smokers” advertising campaign that tells the harsh truth about how devastating cigarette smoking truly is.
Continue reading Former Smokers Are Back With More Tips to Save Lives
Editor
Dec 17, 2012
Recently, we released a report showing that the states this year will collect a record $25.7 billion in revenue from the 1998 tobacco settlement and tobacco taxes, but will spend less than two percent of it — $459.5 million — on programs to prevent kids from smoking and help smokers quit. That’s less than two pennies of every dollar in tobacco revenue to fight tobacco use.
Continue reading Zero Dollars for Prevention Risks More Teen Smokers in North Carolina
Editor
Dec 6, 2012
The states are collecting record amounts of revenue from the 1998 tobacco settlement and tobacco taxes, but are spending only a tiny portion on programs to prevent kids from smoking and help smokers quit, according to a report released today by the Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids and other public health organizations.
This year, the states will take in $25.7 billion in tobacco revenues. But they're spending less than two cents of every tobacco dollar — $459.5 million altogether — to fight tobacco use.
Continue reading Pennies for Prevention
Editor
Aug 30, 2012
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) reports that its unprecedented anti-smoking ad campaign — Tips from Former Smokers (TIPS) — motivated hundreds of thousands of smokers to seek help quitting.
The 12-week campaign, which ended June 10, featured the real stories of former smokers who are suffering the debilitating health effects of their tobacco use.
Continue reading CDC’s Powerful Ads Motivate Smokers to Get Help Quitting
Editor
Aug 20, 2012
Matthew L. Myers, president of the Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids, has written an op-ed in The Huffington Post warning against complacency in the fight against tobacco use and calling on elected officials in the United States to finish the fight against the nation’s number one cause of preventable death.
Continue reading Let’s Finish the Fight Against Tobacco
Editor
Apr 30, 2012
California’s newspapers aren’t fooled by tobacco industry lies about Proposition 29 – and they’re urging voters to beat back the scare tactics and support the measure to increase cigarette taxes, fund tobacco prevention programs and boost cancer research to save lives.
Continue reading California Newspapers: Don’t Believe Big Tobacco’s Lies
Editor
Apr 12, 2012
Pay packages for chief executives at the top three U.S. tobacco companies last year exceeded the amount of money being spent on tobacco prevention programs in all but three states.
Continue reading Tobacco Company CEOs Cash In While States Cut Back on Prevention
Editor
Mar 15, 2012
Meet Terrie. She starts her day by putting on a blonde wig and affixing a hands-free device to her tracheotomy hole to help her speak. Meet Brandon, who sits at the edge of his bed to ease on his artificial limbs. And Roosevelt – he’ll show you the deep scar that runs up and down his torso, the result of heart surgery.
These former smokers are the unlikely stars of the new nationwide media campaign aimed at encouraging smokers to quit and preventing children from starting to smoke. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention unveiled the ads at a Washington news conference.
Continue reading Tips from Former Smokers on Why You Should Quit – Or Never Start
Editor
Mar 6, 2012
Big tobacco companies already have coughed up nearly $15 million to try to kill a California ballot initiative that would boost the state's cigarette tax by $1 to fund cancer research and tobacco-prevention programs.
"Shame on them," says Dr. Richard Gray, president of the American Heart Association Western States Affiliate. "But we aren’t surprised — they will always put their profits before the health of millions of Californians."
Continue reading Big Tobacco Bankrolls Fight Against California Measure to Reduce Smoking, Save Lives
Editor
Feb 24, 2012
What does people power look like?
It looks like 900 middle and high school students thronging the state capitol in Charleston, West Virginia on Tobacco-Free Day to tell lawmakers to do more to reduce smoking and prevent kids from starting.
Continue reading West Virginia Youth Power Propels Tobacco-Free Day at State Capitol
Editor
Dec 15, 2011
Today is a National Day of Action on Prevention, a coordinated effort by hundreds of public health advocates around the country to protect critical prevention money in the new health reform law from deep cuts.
Proposals now moving forward on Capitol Hill would cut the prevention fund by two-thirds or more–just when evidence is mounting that proven prevention programs, especially those to keep kids from smoking and help smokers quit, pay big returns by reducing health care costs.
Continue reading Act Today to Stop Congressional Cuts to Prevention Fund!
Editor
Nov 30, 2011
States have slashed funding for programs to reduce tobacco use by 12 percent in the past year and by 36 percent over the past four years, threatening the nation’s progress against tobacco, according to a report released today by the Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids and other public health organizations.
The states this year will collect a near-record $25.6 billion in revenue from the 1998 state tobacco settlement and tobacco taxes, but will spend only 1.8 percent of it — $456.7 million — on programs to prevent kids from smoking and help smokers quit. In other words, the states are spending less than two cents of every dollar in tobacco revenue to fight tobacco use.
Continue reading State Prevention Funding Cuts Threaten Progress Against Tobacco
Editor
Oct 7, 2011
Altria and altruism just don't mix.
Neither does the tobacco giant's financial sponsorship of an "Adolescent Tobacco Prevention and Cessation Symposium" in Nashville next month.
Continue reading Big Tobacco’s Latest Deception: We Support Youth Tobacco Prevention
Editor
Aug 10, 2011
Over the past decade, Indiana has reduced the smoking rate among adults by nearly a quarter, reaching an historic low for the state of 21.2 percent in 2010.
Indiana was in the forefront of tobacco control efforts following the 1998 settlement of state lawsuits against the tobacco industry. It established an independent agency—Indiana Tobacco Prevention and Cessation—and initially provided robust funding for programs to prevent kids from starting to smoke and help smokers quit.
But political will has waned, and funding has dropped steadily, threatening continued progress.
Continue reading Indiana Smoking Rate Drops to Historic Low
Editor
Jun 16, 2011
The Obama Administration today unveiled a National Prevention Strategy that makes tobacco-free living a top priority as the nation tries to shift the health care system from one focused on treating costly illnesses to a model that encourages wellness and prevention.
Continue reading Tobacco-Free Living a Top Priority in National Prevention Strategy
Danny McGoldrick, Tobacco-Free Kids Vice President of Research
Apr 8, 2011
How do big pay packages for top tobacco executives stack up against state funding for programs to keep kids from smoking and help smokers quit?
It's a lopsided mismatch that the tobacco execs win. Guess the lifestyles of the Big Tobacco Execs are worth more than the health of our kids.
Continue reading Tobacco CEO Pay and Tobacco Prevention: A Tale of Two Payouts
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We blog news and information about the global movement to reduce tobacco use and its devastating toll.
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