Report Card: Oregon Gets F For Fifth Year in a Row in Tobacco Prevention Funding

Data from the 2005 Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System showed Oregon's adult smoking rate declining to 18.5 percent, a drop from 20 percent in 2004.

Photo: Peer Education Project

(SALEM) - Oregon received a failing grade in tobacco prevention funding for the fifth year in a row, according to the annual American Lung Association State of Tobacco Control report issued Tuesday.

The report graded the 50 states, the District of Columbia and Puerto Rico in four categories: smoke-free air, tobacco taxes, funding for tobacco prevention and restrictions on youth access to tobacco products.

Oregon’s grades were as follows:

• Smoke Free Air: C
• Youth Access: D
• Tobacco Prevention and Control Spending: F
• Cigarette Tax: C

The American Lung Association of Oregon has long been a leader in Oregon's tobacco control movement.

With its partners the American Cancer Society, American Heart Association and Tobacco-Free Coalition of Oregon, the Lung Association supports state and local policies that prevent youth from smoking, protect people from secondhand smoke and help people quit.

In September 2006, Gov. Ted Kulongoski announced that he would push for an increase of $0.845 in cigarette taxes in the 2007 legislative session.

The tax increase would establish parity with neighboring Washington State by bringing Oregon's cigarette tax to $2.025 per pack.

Revenues from the increase would be allocated to health insurance coverage for uninsured Oregon children, as well as additional funding for the Oregon Tobacco Prevention and Education Program.

Oregon's Smokefree Workplace Law currently protects 95 percent of the state's workers from the harmful effects of secondhand smoke.

The Lung Association will work with key policy makers in the 2007 legislative session to close loopholes in the current law to ensure all workers are protected.

Legislative efforts will also include restoring current tobacco tax revenues to voter-mandated funding levels and supporting efforts to redirect part of Oregon's Master Settlement Agreement dollars to the Tobacco Prevention and Education Program.

The Lung Association has taken the lead in developing a Smokefree Apartments Advisory Board and is working closely with partners representing both landlords and tenants to establish smokefree policies in multi-unit housing. This work will create a platform for future public policy.

The Oregon School Board passed an administrative rule that requires all school districts in Oregon to have a tobacco policy in place prohibiting tobacco use on all school premises, by everyone and at all times.

The Lung Association is partnering with the Department of Human Services to provide technical assistance to ensure that all districts comply and communicate implementation with the rule to achieve maximum benefit.

This work is now being expanded to include tobacco policy development on community college campuses.

The Lung Association will lead the effort to develop a gold standard tobacco free campus policy and work with students and administration to adopt and implement this gold standard.

Data from the 2005 Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System (BRFSS) conducted by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention showed Oregon's adult smoking rate declining to 18.5 percent, a drop from 20 percent in 2004.

With the help of its partners, the American Lung Association of Oregon will continue to advocate for adequate legislative funding for tobacco prevention, education and cessation.

The Lung Association will also work to make Oregon a state where everyone is protected from secondhand smoke where they live, learn, work and play.