Nevada spends only about 3 percent of what the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommends for anti-tobacco initiatives – among the least in the nation, according to a new report by the American Cancer Society Cancer Action Network.
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ACS CAN’s annual report, How Do You Measure Up?
“We’ve made tremendous progress in the way we diagnose and treat cancer across the country, said Bill Sherman, vice-president, government relations of the eastern division of ACS CAN. But to leverage this progress, Florida legislators must take advantage of the opportunities to pass evidence-based laws and policies that are proven to save lives and money”, said Stephanie Leeds, ACS CAN’s vice president for advocacy in Florida.
Andrew Schepers, spokesman for Cancer Action Network in Michigan, stated that out of 8,300 people diagnosed with lung cancer, over 6,000 will eventually die.
A new report suggests Michigan could do more to curb cancer, including raising the tobacco tax and increasing funding to tobacco prevention programs. The report also looks at whether or not states have accepted available federal funds to increase access to care through their Medicaid program, passed policies to increase patient quality of life and adopted balanced approaches to provide access to pain medications.
A new report gives New York mixed reviews for its efforts to fight cancer through policy, putting the state in the middle of the pack nationwide. Passing and implementing the policy recommendations in the report would not only save lives in Alaska, but also save millions in long-term health care costs and in some cases would even generate additional, much-needed revenue. It uses a traffic signal color scheme to indicate state legislative progress: green for a positive trend, red for serious shortcomings and yellow for somewhere between.
Streit says the last time Iowa raised the tobacco tax was in 2007, but while neighboring states continued to raise it, Iowa’s stood still. Also, the state has a solid policy for helping those suffering from pain.
New Mexico got three red ratings for having no tanning bed restrictions, reduced access to specialized medical care and it’s funding for woman to get breast and cervical cancer screenings.
Nationally, the report finds that only three states meet six out of the nine benchmarks measured.
Although many states are falling short when it comes to passing cancer-fighting policies, others are making steady progress.
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No state received a green rating in every category. ACS CAN will continue to work with lawmakers in the remaining states to ensure more individuals have access to the care they need.
