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With West Virginia having the highest rate of smokers, the WV American Lung Association's annual report gives failing grades in the use of smoking cessation funds.
The report says in 2014 West Virginia has made little to no progress to enact tobacco control policies that will save lives and help end the tobacco epidemic.
"Tobacco use in any form is one of the biggest threats to public health in West Virginia, claiming more than 3,821 lives each year," said Deborah Brown, CEO of the American Lung Association of the Mid-Atlantic. "Tobacco use continues to have a substantial negative effect on the health of West Virginia citizens and the economy of the state. We must act now to end this epidemic."
Tobacco use kills almost half a million Americans and causes up to $333 billion in healthcare costs and lost productivity each year.
Calhoun and all the regional counties, excepting Wirt, have among the highest rates of smoking nicotine in West Virginia at 30-35% of the adult population, according to the Health Statistics Center.
Another county-by-county study of adult smoking says up to 43% of Calhoun adults smoke, with a state-wide average at 26%, according to to rankings from the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation and the University of Wisconsin Population Health Institute.
"State of Tobacco Control 2015" finds state level progress on proven tobacco control policies all-but stalled in 2014. West Virginia's failing grades reflect this trend of missed opportunities by our elected officials to pass proven policies that will reduce tobacco use and save lives.
In 2015, approximately $4.8 million is allocated in the state budget for tobacco prevention and cessation, approximately $850,000 less than funding levels of just a few years ago (in 2012, West Virginia funding levels were at $6.5 million).
The state has use millions from the tobacco settlement, shifting the funds to plug budget loopholes.
The association gave an "F" related to cessation services.
West Virginia Local Smokefree Regulation Grades:
twenty-eight counties earned A grades, 13 earned B grades, 8 earned C grades and 4 counties earned F grades. The "F" counties, Gilmer, Mason, Putnam, and Hampshire.
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