On the anniversary of the Great American smoke out, a leading anti cancer group says Governor Cuomo’s Administration should be spending more to cut back on smoking.
The American Cancer Society’s Michael Burgess says while the Centers for Disease Control recommends New York State spend $200 million dollars a year on tobacco cessation programs, the current state budget has just under $40 million dollars allotted for it. Burgess says in the past, it’s been demonstrated that spending the money on things like a smokers quit line- works.
“We believe it actually saves money because we’re spending over $10 billion dollars in health related costs for smoking,” Burgess said.
The smoking rate among New Yorkers has plateaued in recent years at around 16%, and the rate has actually increased recently in New York City. The State Health Department has quietly begun a new anti smoking ad program featuring young people who developed cancer from smoking.