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<p>WILKES-BARRE &#8212; A recent report by the American Lung Association gives Pennsylvania an &#8220;F&#8221; grade in tobacco prevention and program funding as e-cigarette use among young people soars to new levels.</p><p>The Lung Association also calls for officials to increase the age of sale for all tobacco products &#8212; including e-cigarettes &#8212; to age 21 to save lives.</p><p>The report &#8212; titled &#8220;State of Tobacco Control&#8221; &#8212; points to a 78 percent increase in high school e-cigarette use from 2017 to 2018, according to results from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention&#8217;s 2018 National Youth Tobacco Survey.&nbsp;</p><p>This equals 1 million additional kids beginning to use e-cigarettes, prompting the U.S. Surgeon General to declare e-cigarette use among young people an epidemic in an advisory issued in December 2018.</p><p>&#8220;In Pennsylvania, our adult smoking rates remain at 18.7 percent and the high school smoking rate is 8.7 percent. Tobacco use is a serious addiction and we need to invest in the proven measures to prevent and reduce tobacco use,&#8221; said the American Lung Association&#8217;s Sarah Lawver.</p><p>Tobacco use remains the nation&#8217;s leading cause of preventable death and disease, taking an estimated 480,000 lives every year, the report states.</p><p><strong>Luzerne County</strong> <strong>numbers</strong></p><p>The age-adjusted lung and bronchial cancer death rate in Luzerne County is 67.9 per 100,000 cases. Between 2011 and 2015, this represents an average of 310 deaths per year. This is slightly higher than the overall rate across Pennsylvania (64.7) and the U.S. rate (60.2), and has remained stable over recent years.</p><p>Meanwhile, the adult smoking rate is 17 percent, slightly lower than the state rate.</p><p>&#8220;The American Lung Association&#8217;s report is a sobering reminder that we must do more to reduce and prevent tobacco use, especially among the youth population in Pennsylvania,&#8221; said Sen. John Yudichak, D-Nanticoke. &#8220;As discussions begin on this year&#8217;s budget, I look forward to working with my legislative colleagues on efforts to fund tobacco control programs.&#8221;</p><p>Sen. Lisa Baker, R-Lehman Township, said with the rising cost of cigarettes and the continuing crackdown aimed at preventing minors from getting tobacco products, it is not surprising that kids are being drawn to the e-cigarette alternative that is falsely believed to be without health risk.</p><p>&#8220;These products are too new to have research on the effects and consequences of use,&#8221; Baker said. &#8220;Since they do contain nicotine, users presumably suffer the risks of that substance. Many people, including school officials, are expressing concern about the surge in use among young people.&#8221;</p><p>Nate Wardle, press Secretary at the state Department of Health, issued a statement on the report:</p><p>&#8220;The Pennsylvania Department of Health is working with various organizations to decrease tobacco use in Pennsylvania. This includes the use of not only cigarettes, but also e-cigarettes, which are a public health epidemic in the United States due to the rapid increase in use by teenagers.&#8221;</p><p><strong>Report card</strong></p><p>The 17th annual &#8220;State of Tobacco Control&#8221; report grades states and the federal government on policies proven to prevent and reduce tobacco use, and finds that elected officials must do more to save lives.</p><p>Some of Pennsylvania&#8217;s grades:</p><p>&#8226; Funding for State Tobacco Prevention Programs &#8212; F</p><p>&#8226; Strength of Smokefree Workplace Laws &#8212; D</p><p>&#8226; Level of State Tobacco Taxes &#8212; F</p><p>&#8226; Coverage and Access to Services to Quit Tobacco &#8212; F</p><p>&#8226; Minimum Age of Sale for Tobacco Products to 21 &#8212; F</p><p>Despite Pennsylvania receiving close to $1.7 billion from tobacco settlement payments and tobacco taxes, the state does not fund tobacco control efforts at levels recommended by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the report notes.</p><p>&#8220;Nationwide, increasing the age of sale of tobacco to 21 would prevent 223,000 deaths among people born between 2000 and 2019, including 50,000 fewer dying from lung cancer &#8212; the nation&#8217;s leading cancer killer,&#8221; added the Lung Association&#8217;s Lawver.</p><style>
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<div class="neFile"><img class="neImage" src="https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/02/ALA-SOTC-2019-One-Pager-PA.pdf">
<div class="neCaption"></div></div><div class="metaInfo"><photo0>https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/02/ALA-SOTC-2019-One-Pager-PA.pdf</photo0><caption0></caption0><photoCredit0></photoCredit0></div><div class="neFile"><img class="neImage" src="https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/02/web1_TTL020719Smoke2.jpg">
<div class="neCaption">A &#8216;No Smoking&#8217; sign is reflected in a puddle littered with cigarette butts at the Conahan Intermodal Transportation Facility in Wilkes-Barre. The American Lung Association says Pennsylvania needs to improve its tobacco policies to save lives. </div></div><div class="metaInfo"><photo1>https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/02/web1_TTL020719Smoke2.jpg</photo1><caption1>A &#8216;No Smoking&#8217; sign is reflected in a puddle littered with cigarette butts at the Conahan Intermodal Transportation Facility in Wilkes-Barre. The American Lung Association says Pennsylvania needs to improve its tobacco policies to save lives. </caption1><photoCredit1>Aimee Dilger | Times Leader  </photoCredit1></div><div class="neFile"><img class="neImage" src="https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/02/web1_TTL020719Smoke3.jpg">
<div class="neCaption">A man holds a traditional cigarette while using a cell phone on South Main Street in Wilkes-Barre. </div></div><div class="metaInfo"><photo2>https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/02/web1_TTL020719Smoke3.jpg</photo2><caption2>A man holds a traditional cigarette while using a cell phone on South Main Street in Wilkes-Barre. </caption2><photoCredit2>Aimee Dilger | Times Leader  </photoCredit2></div><div class="neFile"><img class="neImage" src="https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/02/web1_TTL020719Smoke1.jpg">
<div class="neCaption">Rico Wright smokes a cigarette at the Conahan Intermodal Transportation Facility in Wilkes-Barre on Wednesday afternoon. A new report by the American Lung Association gives Pennsylvania an &#8216;F&#8217; grade for tobacco-prevention efforts. </div></div><div class="metaInfo"><photo3>https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/02/web1_TTL020719Smoke1.jpg</photo3><caption3>Rico Wright smokes a cigarette at the Conahan Intermodal Transportation Facility in Wilkes-Barre on Wednesday afternoon. A new report by the American Lung Association gives Pennsylvania an &#8216;F&#8217; grade for tobacco-prevention efforts. </caption3><photoCredit3>Aimee Dilger | Times Leader  </photoCredit3></div></div>
<div class="metaInfo"><subheadMeta>Report: State can do much more to save lives</subheadMeta></div><div class="metaInfo"><bylineMeta><p>By Bill O&#8217;Boyle</p><p>boboyle@www.timesleader.com</p></bylineMeta></div><div class="metaInfo"><shirttailMeta><p>Reach Bill O&#8217;Boyle at 570-991-6118 or on Twitter @TLBillOBoyle.</p></shirttailMeta></div>

Report gives Pennsylvania ‘F’ grades on tobacco