Missouri’s Use Of Tobacco Control Money Gets Failing Grade

Missouri gets failing grades for its tobacco control programs. So says the American Lung Association. Missouri has gotten millions of dollars from the national tobacco settlement, but any hopes of spending much of that money on health programs and on tobacco use prevention programs have melted away in the face of serious budget problems. The American Lung Association has no sympathy for the state’s financial problem. It gives Missouri failing grades for failing to fund tobacco prevention programs. The Association’s top state official, Lori Pickens, says Missouri is dead last in that category. Missouri also gets an “F” for lack of smoke-free air ordinances. The Lung Association gives Missouri a “B” for its efforts to keep youngsters from getting tobacco. But Pickens says this state is downgraded because it does not adequately fund those youth prevention programs. The American Lung Association finds Missouri’s situation even more disappointing because Missouri has one of the highest percentages of smokers of any state. It says about one-third of middle school students and almost two-thirds of high school students admit having smoked, or being smokers. An Association spokesman calls Missouir’s anti-smoking efforts “deplorable.”