Connecticut received ‘mixed grades’ on progress toward preventing and reducing tobacco use, according to the American Lung Association’s 21st annual State of Tobacco report.
The state’s grades this year include two ‘F’s, one ‘C,’ and two ‘B’s for efforts to prevent and reduce tobacco use, particularly among the youth. The failing grades were for tobacco prevention and cessation funding, and the availability of flavored tobacco products.
The study found that Connecticut received $433.6 million in tobacco related revenue but spent just $13.8 million on tobacco control efforts, only 43.2 percent of the amount recommended by the Centers for Disease Control. To date, Connecticut has received over three billion dollars under the Master Settlement Agreement, the result of a massive lawsuit by states against tobacco companies.
In April 2023, Attorney General William Tong announced Connecticut’s annual payment from the Tobacco Master Settlement Agreement in a press release.
Having received $124.6 million dollars for the Fiscal Year of 2023, Tong called for increased spending to prevent youth smoking and vaping. While the Connecticut legislature considered a bill to ban flavored tobacco vapes during the 2023 legislative session, the bill ultimately failed.
“The multistate tobacco settlement has had profound impacts on public health—dramatically driving down youth smoking across the United States. But our work is not done. Look no further than our recent settlement with vaping giant JUUL Labs and Big Tobacco’s efforts there to lure new generations of youth into a lifetime of nicotine addiction,” Tong said. “We must stay vigilant, and to do that, we need to invest—both in enforcement here within the Office of Attorney General—and in the public health experts and advocates leading effort on the ground to curb harmful tobacco and nicotine use.”
Connecticut received a ‘B’ grade for its tobacco taxes, as there are little to no taxes on equalized and weight-based products like cigars and e-cigarettes. These varying taxes act as regulators so that other tobacco products receive equal tax rates compared to cigarettes.
However, state revenue from cigarette taxes in the fiscal year 2024 budget projections show a downward adjustment of $17.5 million dollars, or 6.3% less than previous projections.
Although tobacco revenues are sliding, in a recent press release, Attorney General Tong has urged the Biden administration to complete its review of proposed regulation to ban the use of menthol in cigarettes. Tong and 20 of his state attorneys general counterparts, sent a letter on January 16, 2024 urging President Biden to ban menthol cigarettes nationwide.
In it, the coalition expresses a call to action to protect public health and address the systematic and disproportionate impact of these products on minority communities and vulnerable populations, including youth.
“Protecting the public from dangerous products, including tobacco products prohibited by the FDA, is one of the utmost priorities for the Attorneys General,” the letter states. “Compelling and consistent scientific evidence shows that removing menthol cigarettes from the U.S. market and prohibiting characterizing flavors in cigars are likely to reduce youth smoking initiation, improve smoking cessation outcomes in adult smokers, and advance health equity.”
“Menthol is added to make a deadly distasteful product more palpable, with disproportionate health impacts in black communities where tobacco companies have aggressively marketed menthol tobacco,” Tong said in a news release.
This is the seventh year Connecticut has received an ‘F’ for efforts to minimize tobacco and vape use. The American Lung Association defines an ‘F’ rating as having inadequate policies for tobacco control.
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