AUGUSTA, Maine — Maine, which a decade ago had the nation's highest teen smoking rate, has become the first state to win a perfect score from the American Lung Association for its tobacco-fighting efforts.

Maine's grades contrasted sharply with those of the United States as a whole, which received mostly F scores in the lung association's annual report card on anti-tobacco progress, released today.

Hawai'i went from the top of the class to near the bottom, the association said.

The state was given a D — down from the A received in 2004 — because the amount that was spent on tobacco programs had to be restated.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention analyzes each state's tobacco programs and recommends how much to spend. The Hawai'i figure was set at $10.7 million, but in fiscal 2006, spending totaled $6.8 million, or 63 percent of the recommended amount.

States that spend 59 percent or less of the recommended amount receive an F. This year, 40 states got an F.

Sterling Yee, president of the American Lung Association of Hawai'i, said the state needs to do more to finance tobacco programs. "For us to receive a D grade in tobacco prevention spending of less than $7 million is not acceptable and threatens the good health of Hawai'i's citizens," Yee said.

The lung association ranks states in four categories: anti-tobacco program spending, smoke-free air, cigarette taxes and youth access.

Hawai'i received the same grade for the second year in smoke-free air (B), cigarette taxes (B) and youth access (C).

The local association says numbers for 2004 were incorrect because they included money the state placed into the Tobacco Prevention and Control Trust Fund and not just money spent on tobacco control, which is the national standard.

The state is to receive about $43 million a year for 25 years as part of a national settlement with tobacco companies.

The United States received F scores for Food and Drug Administration regulation of tobacco, programs to quit smoking and cigarette taxes. The federal tax is 39 cents for a pack of 20.

The country also received a D grade in the fourth category, which dealt with the Framework Convention on Tobacco Control, a global anti-tobacco treaty. The United States signed it in 2004, but the Senate has yet to receive it for ratification.

States made the most progress in the category of smoke-free air.

Maine won A's in all categories. The report card praises the state for laws that restrict smoking at work sites and schools and ban it in bars and restaurants; for laws making it difficult for minors to get cigarettes; and for doubling its cigarette tax from $1 to $2 last year.