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The Baltimore Sun: Smoking programs not keeping pace
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Most states, including Maryland, are not doing enough to protect the public from tobacco 
or prevent related disease, according to the latest assessment from the American Lung Associationdue out today.
In its 10th annual State of Tobacco Control Report Card, the group gave praise to the Obama administration for offering treatments to federal employees, putting graphic pictures on cigarettes packs and advertising its 1-800-QUIT-NOW line. But the group said the tobacco companies are taking advantage of the states’ lax policies by spending billions to market cigarettes and smokeless tobacco products.
Charles D. Connor, association president and CEO, said youth and adult smoking rates have declined only slowly over the past decade, sometimes stalling completely. That means tobacco remains the leading cause of preventable death -- 443,000 die from tobacco-related disease and second-hand smoke a year, the group says. It also costs $193 billion in healthcare costs and lost productivity.
