Tobacco use remains the leading cause of preventable death and disease both nationally and statewide, according to the American Lung Association’s 2020 State of Tobacco Control report.
The ALA Wednesday released its 18th annual report, which showed continued increases in the youth vaping epidemic nationwide, and gave Pennsylvania failing scores for tobacco prevention and control funding, and taxes on tobacco products.
“Multiple studies have shown that every 10 percent increase in the price of cigarettes reduces consumption by 4 percent among adults and about 7 percent among youth,” she said.
“To protect kids from a lifetime of nicotine addiction, the Lung Association in Pennsylvania encourages Pennsylvania to increase cigarette taxes and equalize the tax on other tobacco products, including cigars and smokeless tobacco.
“The U.S. Surgeon General has concluded there is no safe level of exposure to secondhand smoke,”
The ALA believes changing the age to 21 is a positive step for Pennsylvania, but Carr said, “Pennsylvania still has significant work to do.”