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South Carolina ranks last on tobacco control report

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South Carolina remains at the bottom of the list in regulating and controlling tobacco, according to a national report released Tuesday.

The American Lung Association's annual tobacco control report gave the state failing grades on each of the four key tobacco control measures it ranks: smoke-free air, youth access, spending on prevention programs and cigarette taxes.

The four F's come despite recent laws passed by a handful of municipalities and counties, including Bluffton and unincorporated Beaufort County, that ban indoor smoking in public places, including restaurants and bars. State lawmakers also implemented a law last year making possession of tobacco by a minor illegal.

Though there's progress, it's still not enough, said June Deen, vice president of public affairs for the American Lung Association Southeast Region.

"Our (cigarette) tax is the lowest in the nation, we don't spend even close to enough money on prevention and control, and there's been reluctance to even discuss a statewide (indoor) smoking ban. ... We're still way behind," Deen said.

Tre Coleman, a tobacco marketing specialist with the S.C. Department of Agriculture who also serves in an advisory role on the South Carolina Tobacco Board, said reports like the American Lung Association's fail to take into account the positive economic impact of tobacco production.

"There's no mention of the taxes paid to communities that have helped build roads and schools and lower property taxes," he said. "The focus always seems to be only on negative health repercussions."

The report, he said, "is just like any other. Some of it's opinion, some of it's fact."

According to the report:

• South Carolina's cigarette tax ranks 50th in the nation at 7 cents per pack. That's 93 cents below the national average, and a dime less than the second-lowest state, Missouri.

• The state is slated to spend just more than $3 million this year on tobacco prevention and control programs -- at least $20 million less than the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommends.

• Though Bluffton, Columbia, unincorporated Beaufort County, Sullivans Island, and Greenville have instituted indoor smoking bans, there's no statewide ordinance to address the issue. The American Lung Association report looks at statewide laws regulating indoor smoking, and does not count S.C.'s various county and municipal smoking ordinances in its analysis.

But in 2007, Deen said, there's more momentum than ever among lawmakers and communities to regulate tobacco. Deen cited:

Charleston, Hilton Head Island and the city of Beaufort are among a handful of municipalities discussing indoor smoking bans for 2007.

Raising the cigarette tax figures to be a top legislative issue this session at the S.C. Statehouse. In his budget proposal, Gov. Mark Sanford proposed raising it by 30 cents per pack to 37 cents.

"I think South Carolina, for the first time in years, has the greatest potential of any state in this country on moving forward on tobacco-control issues," Deen said. "It's very exciting to finally begin seeing this."

Nationwide, many states improved their rankings in 2006. Eight states, including North Carolina, raised cigarette taxes last year. A record 26 states and the District of Columbia earned "passing grades" of a "C" average or better for having laws that make workplaces free of tobacco smoke.

Contact Peter Frost at 706-8169 or .