Despite collecting record amounts of money from the 1998 multi-state tobacco settlement and tobacco taxes, states slashed funding for tobacco prevention programs by more than 15 percent in 2009, according to a report from several health and anti-tobacco advocacy groups.
The cuts have pushed prevention funding even further than ever below federally recommended levels. Total 2009 funding for state tobacco prevention programs was about $630 million, or a mere 17 percent of the $3.7 billion recommended by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, according to the report.
“The inadequate funding of tobacco prevention and cessation programs is a powerful example of misplaced priorities in our nation’s health care system,” said Risa Lavizzo-Mourey, MD, MBA, president and chief executive officer of the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation. “Investing more in proven tobacco prevention programs and policies, like smoke-free restaurants and workplaces, will help people lead healthier lives and reduce health care costs.”
The report found that only North Dakota funds tobacco prevention programs at the CDC-recommended level. Just nine states fund tobacco prevention at even half the recommended level, and 31 states and the District of Columbia spend less than one-fourth of what CDC recommends is adequate.
The report also found that in 2009, states cut funding for tobacco prevention by more than $103 million. New York, which had a successful program that lowered smoking rates to well below national levels, made the largest cut, cutting $25 million or almost a third of its previous tobacco prevention budget.
The cuts came at a time when states were expected to collect a combined $25.1 billion from the 1998 tobacco settlement and tobacco taxes, but the report found states are spending only about 2 percent of tobacco revenue on prevention programs.
“Despite their current budget challenges, the states lack excuses for failing to do more,” said APHA member Matthew L. Myers, president of the Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids. “They are collecting record amounts of tobacco money, more of which should be used to fight the tobacco problem. And there is overwhelming evidence that tobacco prevention programs not only reduce smoking and save lives, they also save money by reducing tobacco-related health care costs. Those states that make short-sighted decisions to cut tobacco prevention will pay a steep price in lives and dollars.”
The report was jointly released by the Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids, Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, American Heart Association, American Cancer Society Cancer Action Network and the American Lung Association. The groups have been issuing annual reports gauging whether states have kept their promise to use money from the 1998 landmark tobacco settlement, which is estimated to reach $246 billion over the first 25 years, to fight tobacco use.
The latest report pointed to strong evidence that tobacco prevention programs work, and much of that evidence comes directly from the states. Maine, for example, which ranked first in funding tobacco prevention programs from 2002 to 2007, has reduced smoking by 71 percent among middle school students and by 64 percent among high school students since 1997. Washington, which the report described as having “a well-funded prevention program before cutting funding by 42 percent this year,” has cut adult smoking by 30 percent and youth smoking by 50 percent since its program launched in 2000.
The full report, “A Broken Promise to Our Children: The 1998 State Tobacco Settlement 11 Years Later,” is available at www.tobaccofreekids.org.
- Copyright The Nation’s Health, American Public Health Association
