AUGUSTA – When it comes to helping Mainers live healthy, cigarette-smoke-free lives, the state deserves the highest grades in New England, according to the American Lung Association.

The state received two A’s, a B and a C in a report card prepared by the group, the best in New England.

Representatives of the American Lung Association of Maine say they’re already working to improve the C grade, which was for the state’s tax on cigarettes. They say they’ll push to boost the tax to record heights this legislative session.

Maine now taxes cigarettes $1 a pack.

“We’d like to see our tax be the highest in the country, because it’s part of an overall strategy to reduce smoking,” said Edward F. Miller of the Maine association. Studies show that higher cigarette taxes lead to reduced smoking, especially among young people, he said. Rhode Island’s cigarette tax is now the highest in the nation at $2.46 per pack.

Maine received an A – and outscored other New England states and much of the nation – in how it uses its tobacco settlement money to promote smoke-free lives. Maine also got an A for its efforts to restrict youth access to tobacco. It got a B for its smoke-free air.

Even though all public places must be smoke-free, Maine didn’t get an A in that category because of how Maine laws are written, Miller said.

“Because we still have some laws that allow, for instance, a smoking room in some workplaces, we got a lower grade.” Most workplaces don’t have smoking rooms anymore, Miller said.

He was pleased with Maine’s scores, overall, saying the scores are high because of the state’s “sound public policy and dedication to reducing tobacco-related problems.”

– By Bonnie Washuk