Hawaii’s stop-smoking grades range from A to F

A new report from the American Lung Association gives Hawaii decent grades for cigarette taxes and having smoke-free air, but failing grades for government support of tobacco prevention and control and smoking-cessation programs. The association’s annual State of Tobacco Control report, released on Jan.11, grades the strength of federal and state laws in protecting citizens from illnesses caused by tobacco.

Hawaii received a “B” in the cigarette tax category and an “A” in the smoke-free-air category — two of the four categories measured by the report. The state earned good marks for raising the cigarette tax on a pack of cigarettes from $2 to $2.60 in June 2009 and for having comprehensive laws that ban smoking in nearly all workplaces, including bars, restaurants, stores, schools and recreational facilities.

Hawaii’s comprehensive smoke-free law took effect in November 2006 but it has gone virtually unenforced with only one woman being cited and fined in more than three years.

Meanwhile, the report gave Hawaii a “D” for tobacco prevention and control spending in 2009 and an “F” for how well Medicaid and state employee health-insurance plans cover smoking-cessation programs. Hawaii received those low grades because, due to budget cuts, government spending for tobacco control and prevention fell dramatically in 2009 to $8.8 million, compared to the $15.2 million a year recommended by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Click here for the full report.