2016 AMERICA’S HEALTH RANKINGS® REPORT RANKS LOUISIANA 43 FOR ADULT SMOKERS (UP THREE SPOTS FROM 46 IN 2015)

Smoking Cessation Trust encourages smokers to keep up the good work of quitting cigarettes

NEW ORLEANS, La., (December 16, 2016) – According to the 2016 America’s Health Rankings® Report, released yesterday by the United Health Foundation, 21.9% (24.0% in 2015) of Louisiana adults smoke, ranking the state 43 (up three spots from 46 in 2015) out of 50 states. The U.S. average for adult smokers is now 17.5% (18.1% in 2015). The state’s overall health ranking is now 49, up one spot from 50 in 2015.

 

America’s Health Rankings® Annual Report is the longest-running annual assessment of the nation’s health on a state-by-state basis. For 27 years, America’s Health Rankings Annual Report has analyzed a comprehensive set of behaviors, community and environmental conditions, policies, and clinical care data to provide a holistic view of the health of the nation. America’s Health Rankings Annual Report is the result of a partnership between United Health Foundation and the American Public Health Association.

“It is great to see that so many Louisiana smokers chose to kick the habit in 2016, but we still have a long way to go in getting our state completely smoke-free and healthy,” said Mike Rogers, CEO of the Smoking Cessation Trust Management Services (SCT). “To that end, the Trust continues to partner with statewide health systems and providers, such as Ochsner Health System, Willis-Knighton in Shreveport, Imperial Health in Lake Charles, Our Lady of the Lake in Baton Rouge, East Jeff General Hospital and West Jefferson Medical Center in greater New Orleans, and North Oaks Health System in Hammond, La., to provide our free smoking cessation products and services to a wider audience of potential “Scott Class” members who are ready to quit.”

 

There are immediate benefits for those who stop smoking including return to heart rate and blood pressure normality, improved circulation, improved lung function, and improved smell and taste. Long term benefits to non-smokers include reducing the chance of dying prematurely from smoking related diseases by 60%, a lower risk of stroke, and improvement in overall physical appearance.

 

The Smoking Cessation Trust, now in its fourth year, is the result of a court judgment in Scott v. American Tobacco Company, a 14-year-old class action lawsuit, became final. The judgment ordered certain tobacco companies to fund a statewide, 10-year smoking cessation program to benefit more than 200,000 Louisiana smokers who are members of the plaintiff class (the "Scott Class"). The recipient of the award was a court-established and court-supervised smoking cessation program, known as the Smoking Cessation Trust, which would benefit all Louisiana residents who smoked a cigarette before September 1, 1988. The program began registering eligible recipients in 2012 and, to date, has registered nearly 64,000 Louisiana citizens who have committed to freeing themselves of this addiction.

For more information or to apply, visit the Smoking Cessation Trust at www.smokefreela.org; call locally at 504-529-5665 or toll-free at 855-259-6346.