NJ gets poor grades in effort to curb smoking
By: Scott Fallon
NorthJersey.com
USA Today Network - New Jersey
..... New Jersey received a round of poor grades form the American Lung Association on Wednesday [01/29/2025] for failing to adequately curb smoking through laws, taxes and funding.
.....
Although the report comes at a time when fewer New Jerseyans are smoking - and those who do smoke are smoking less than ever - the clean-air advocacy group said lawmakers have not stepped up efforts to curb tobacco use.
..... the point to a bill stalled in Trenton that would prohibit smoking in the last indoor public area where it is permitted: designated sections of Atlantic City casinos.
..... Many casino employees say their health is at risk when they work in the smoking areas. casino lobbyists and south Jessey business organizations have told lawmakers that Atlantic city would lose customers to Pennsylvania casinos, where smoking is allowed in designated areas. New York prohibits smoking inside casinos.
..... But the issue goes beyond the fight in Atlantic City.
.....
The association's "state of Tobacco control" report takes aim at several areas where it says New Jersey falls short. among them:
* Funding for tobacco prevention programs - Grade F. The report said New Jersey lawmakers have allocated more than $7.5 million in this year's [2025] state budget for "tobacco control programs" when the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommends $103 million.
* Strength of smoke-free workplaces laws - Grade: B. This is New Jessy's highest mark on the report card because of the number of places where smoking is prohibited in the state, form restaurants to private businesses. The lone exception is designated areas of casinos.
* Tobacco taxes - Grade: F. New Jersey charges $2.70 in tax per pack of cigarettes, which places it in the upper echelon, but below some other states such as New York, at %5.35 a pack, and Connecticut, at $4.35.
* Coverage and access to services to quit tobacco - Grade: C. The report said some insurance plans have barriers to coverage but most offer medication and other means to quit smoking.
* Ending the sale of all flavored tobacco products - Grande: D. Flavored e-cigarettes, which have been blamed for attracting minors to vaping, are banned, and so are most flavored cigarettes and cigars. Advocates say menthol cigarettes should also be banned.
......
"In 2025, policymakers in New Jersey must focus on amending the state's comprehensive smoke-fee law to finally include casinos and significantly increasing the cigarette tax," said Michael Seilback, an executive at the American Lung Association.
..... Smoking has decreased steadily among New Jerseyans over the decades, from almost half the adult population in the already 1960s to about 9% in recent years.
..... That still amounts to about 1 million New Jerseyans who smoke, Health Department data shows.
..... Smoking rates among New Jessey adults in recent years:
* 2012: 17.7%.
* 2015: 13.8%.
* 2021: 11.1%.
* 2023: 9.1%
..... Source: NJ Department of Health, Centers for Disease Control.