Report: States Slash Funding For Tobacco Prevention Programs

State governments are spending very little money from tobacco taxes and the landmark 1998 tobacco settlement on programs to prevent kids from smoking and to help smokers quit.

That’s the key finding in a recent report from the Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids and other national public health organizations.

This year, the report says the 50 states will spend about $518-million, or only two-percent, of the more than 25-billion dollars they will collect from the tobacco settlement and tobacco taxes.

Danny McGoldrick, the Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids’ vice president of research, says the funding cuts could erode the progress made in recent years to keep youngsters from smoking and to get smokers to kick the habit.

Federal health officials say 96-billion dollars in health care bills each year can be attributed to tobacco use and exposure to secondhand smoke.

The report says Nevada, New Hampshire and Ohio currently provide no state money for tobacco prevention programs.

Only Alaska and North Dakota are funding these programs at levels recommended by the Centers for Disease Control & Prevention.

McGoldrick encourages voters to contact their elected officials and voice their concerns about state cuts in tobacco prevention funding.