Missouri gets bad marks for tobacco programs

Missouri received F's in all four categories for the third year in a row.

By Eva Dou

Published Feb. 9, 2009

For the third straight year, Missouri got straight F's in an annual assessment from the American Lung Association.

During the last three years, Missouri has only improved in one of four rating categories on the State of Tobacco Control Report Card.

Last year was the first in which the state spent money on tobacco prevention and control, which was noted in the report card, but the state made no improvement in the categories of smoke-free air, cigarette taxes and health coverage.

The $2.6 million the state shelled out last year for tobacco control programs is still far short of the $73 million recommended by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

The poor ratings partly reflect a lack of tobacco control legislation with teeth, said Stan Cowan, a research aide with Campus-Community Alliances for Smoke-Free Environments, an anti-smoking interest group based at MU.

"I don't think we have the political will in Missouri to get serious about tobacco control," he said.

The only statewide smoking regulation is the Missouri Indoor Clean Air Act, which allows smoking in public places if there is a designated area.

Cowan said the tide is slowly turning with some Missouri communities passing stricter local regulations.

Columbia banned smoking in most public places in 2007. Seven other Missouri cities, including Kansas City, have banned smoking in all bars and restaurants.

St. Louis and Jefferson City are among cities that rejected such bans.

Public smoking has gained attention at the state level this year, with a Senate bill and House joint resolution now in committee.

Sen. Joan Bray, D-St. Louis County, introduced a bill last Wednesday to ban smoking in public places, repealing the state Clean Air Act's provision for designated smoking areas. Bray proposed the same bill last year, but it failed to make it out of committee.

In the House, Rep. Joe Fallert, D-Ste. Genevieve, is sponsoring a House joint resolution to let voters decide whether a public smoking ban amendment should be added to the state constitution.

"When I did my constituent survey last year, about 58 percent of those who responded said they supported a public ban," Fallert said.

Victoria Warren, Missouri Department of Health and Senior Services program manager, said these proposals might face a tough audience in the capitol if St. Louis and other large cities don't get on board.

"In other states, it often takes several large communities going smoke-free to have the critical mass of people needed for a statewide ban," Warren said.

Sen. Kurt Schaefer, R-Columbia, said he would have concerns with any smoking measure that dictates what people can do on their own property.

Missouri, a tobacco-growing state, has one of the nation's highest percentages of smokers. It also has the second lowest excise tax on cigarettes.

According to the state Department of Health and Senior Services, the high smoking rate costs the state $2 billion each year in terms of smoking-related illnesses.