American Lung Association: Federal Report Card for 2009

Today the American Lung Association released it "State of Tobacco Control" for 2009.
The rankings for at the federal level were interesting and will be outlined below:

1. By passing the FDA regulation of tobacco the federal government receives an "A." This is a landmark piece of legislation that will have real impact on youth and adult smoking rates but also what the public knows about tobacco products. 
2. By not ratifying the Framework Convention on Tobacco Control (FCTC) the federal government received a "D." This is an important public health treaty, the first of its kind, that would end Big Tobacco's interference within the creation of  public health policy. While the FCTC has been signed it was not submitted to the Senate for ratification. 
3. Despite increasing the federal cigarette tax from $.39 to $1.01, they receive a "D." They also receive a "thumps-up" for this effort. 
4. Finally, for tobacco prevention and control spending the federal government received an "F." There is minimal spending for a national quit line, no spending for national media coverage, minimal coverage of cessation services, and no smoker's health fund. 

Despite great efforts on the federal level to make progress on the leading cause of preventable death, the grades are still pretty poor. Check back here for details on how Wisconsin is progressing in this fight againt Big Tobacco.