Source: Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids
Washington, DC - Three years after reaching $246 billion in legal
settlements with the tobacco industry, most states are failing to keep
their promise to use a significant portion of their settlement proceeds to
fund tobacco prevention programs, and even the meager amounts allocated for
prevention are at risk as state legislatures convene to address budget
shortfalls, according to a report released today by a coalition of public
health organizations...
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The report, entitled "Show Us the Money: An Update on the States'
Allocation of the Tobacco Settlement Dollars," was released by the Campaign
for Tobacco-Free Kids, American Heart Association, American Cancer Society
and American Lung Association.
Specific results from the report show:
- Only five states are funding tobacco prevention programs at the minimum levels recommended by the CDC.
- Only 19 states (including the five above) have committed even 50 percent of the minimum funding level recommended by the CDC.
- Sixteen states have committed between 25 and 50 percent of the minimum amount recommended by the CDC.
- Twelve states have committed less than 25 percent of the minimum amount recommended by the CDC.
- Three states Michigan, North Carolina and Tennessee and the District of Columbia have committed none of their settlement money or other major funding source, such as a tobacco tax, to tobacco prevention.
Source: Reuters
Feeling the pinch of the U.S. economic recession, state officials are using
money from a $246 billion national tobacco settlement to plug budget holes
rather than fund anti-smoking programs, according to a study released on
Tuesday.
The latest in a series by the Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids, the American
Cancer Society, the American Heart Association and the American Lung
Association, the report blasted states for failing to use the 1998 legal
settlement money to combat tobacco use.
"These are penny-wise, pound-foolish decisions that ignore the conclusive
evidence that tobacco prevention programs not only reduce smoking and save
lives but also save far more than they cost by reducing smoking-caused
health care expenditures," the report said.
