About 1,160 Hawaii residents die each year from smoking, a figure that eventually could rise to 18,000 because of the high percentage of isle children who smoke, according to the Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids. Group expects surge
in isle smoking deathsBy Helen Altonn
haltonn@starbulletin.comThe nonprofit group reports that 19.7 percent of adults in the islands smoke, below the national average of 23.3 percent, and 24.5 percent of Hawaii high school students smoke, vs. 28 percent nationally.
About 2,700 Hawaii kids under age 18 become daily smokers each year, it says.
The group said if the current smoking trend among children continues, the annual tobacco death toll will continue to rise.
National health groups yesterday released two reports on tobacco use in Hawaii and other states, stressing smoking prevention as "one of the smartest and most fiscally responsible investments that governors and state legislators across the country can make."
In a report, the Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids, American Heart Association, American Cancer Society and American Lung Association, joined by the American Legacy Foundation and Smokeless States Initiative, described how many states are plugging budget deficits with tobacco settlement money.
In a separate report, the groups reported that Medicaid spending related to smoking more than doubled from 1993 to 2001. Medicaid costs in Hawaii went from $41.1 million in 1993 to $102.4 million last year -- a 148 percent increase, the report said. The state's share of the costs rose from $19.4 million in 1993 to $45.1 million last year, a 132 percent increase.
Overall, annual health care costs in Hawaii directly caused by tobacco use reportedly total $328 million, the report said.
The few states with comprehensive tobacco prevention programs show they are "an excellent investment" because they reduce smoking, save lives and cut smoking-related health care costs, the public health groups said.
Hawaii's estimated expenditures this year for tobacco prevention from all funding sources total about $7.4 million, according to state Department of Health figures. That includes an estimated $1.7 million in tobacco trust fund grants.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention want states to spend from $10 million to $20 million of their tobacco settlement allocations on control programs. The Legislature in a special session last year cut the amount of settlement money channeled into the Hawaii tobacco trust fund to 12.5 percent from 25 percent to finance $150 million in revenue bonds for construction of a new medical school in Kakaako.
The Hawaii Community Foundation administers the trust fund, with earnings used for tobacco-control activities by community groups.
Trust fund projections show an estimated $2.4 million will be available next year for grants. Coupled with an estimated $5.6 million from various other funding sources, the total available to battle smoking would be about $8 million.
Dr. Virginia Pressler, state Health Department deputy director for health resources, said the Hawaii Community Foundation will plan a comprehensive tobacco cessation program in the next year that will probably hike total prevention spending to $10 million.
The Health Department is spending much of its share of the annual tobacco settlement money to promote health-related activities and to combat smoking. It has allocated $850,000 for tobacco "counter-marketing" and is pouring substantial funds into education and enforcement efforts to halt the growing use of tobacco among youths, among other programs.