Lung association urges states to spend more to fight tobacco

States spent more in 2013 to battle tobacco use. But that increase wasn’t enough in the eyes of the medical profession, which is pressing for a more powerful campaign to address the half-a-million Americans who die from tobacco-related illnesses each year.

The American Lung Association, in releasing its review of 2013 anti-tobacco measures, noted that the amount spent by states increased by 4 percent (to $485.5 million) over 2012 expenditures. But it also pointed out that 40 states and the District of Columbia “failed to fund their tobacco prevention programs at even half of the Centers for Disease Control level.”