Fiscal Year 2009 Priorities
Increase funding for the Massachusetts Tobacco Control Program (budget line item 4590-0300)
Tobacco use is the leading cause of preventable death in Massachusetts, accounting for one death every hour; every day, 24 people lose their lives to tobacco. With this in mind, Tobacco Free Mass requests an increase in funding for the state's tobacco prevention and cessation program to $35 million. The state receives nearly $700 million annually in tobacco revenue, yet spends two only percent of that total on programs to prevent youth from starting to smoke and to help smokers quit. By contrast, the tobacco industry spends $4.1 million every week in Massachusetts to market its deadly products. Continuous counter-marketing, enforcement, and education are key in combating the issue, and spending money now will avoid future health and economic costs. In fact, an MIT study found that every dollar invested in tobacco control can save $2 to $3 dollars in health care costs.
Make the Medicaid smoking cessation benefit permanent
A Medicaid smoking cessation benefit was signed into law as a pilot program in 2006. The benefit provides free or low-cost smoking cessation services, including FDA-approved medications and counseling, but is set to end in June 2008. The smoking rate among Medicaid subscribers is nearly double that of the privately insured - 39% vs. 19%. More than 19,000 smokers accessed the benefit in its first year at a cost of $2.45 million; currently, the state spends more than $1 billion on smoking-related health care costs.
Raise the tobacco excise tax
A $1.00 per pack increase in the state's tobacco excise tax would provide a stable revenue stream of more than $154 million annually for health reform and public health programs, including tobacco prevention and cessation services, as well reduce smoking, particularly among youth and low-income smokers. Every state that has increased its cigarette tax has seen an increase in revenue, even while reducing smoking levels. Massachusetts' per pack is $1.51, which places it 15th nationally. A 2005 survey of Massachusetts residents found 70% favored increasing the cigarette tax. Significantly, an equal number (72%) of Massachusetts voters with family incomes less than $30,000 per year support a tax increase (State House News Service, April 20, 2005).
"we may go to the Museum of Science in Boston and my son will see two encased lungs of decedents side by side: One of a person who died of lung cancer and the other, emphysema. I think of those as my mom & dad's lungs" Mary, Billerica