Less spent on smoking fight

Prevention efforts said underfinanced

By: JournalNow Staff | JOURNAL STAFF AND WIRE REPORT
Published: December 10, 2009

RICHMOND --

States cut money for state tobacco-prevention programs more than 15 percent this year, pushing the amount further than ever below federally recommended levels, according to a report released yesterday by a coalition of public-health groups.

The states will spend $567.5 million of their own money and $62 million in federal grants on programs to prevent tobacco use -- about 17 percent as much as the $3.7 billion that the U.S. Centers for Disease Control recommends, the report said.

North Carolina ranked 24th in terms of percentage spent on programs compared with the CDC's recommendation. In the most recent fiscal year, the state spent $20 million on prevention programs. That was about 19 percent of what the CDC recommended the state spend, almost $107 million.

Thirty-four states and the District of Columbia cut financing for such programs this year. New York cut the most, at $25.2 million, or 31 percent, the report said. The $20 million North Carolina spent represented an increase, up from $18.5 percent the previous year.

"All the states are struggling to figure out how they're going to keep services whole in their states, and there are no easy places left to look," said Debra Miller, the director of health policy for the Council of State Governments.

States will collect more than $25 billion in a combination of tobacco taxes and legal settlements from the tobacco industry this fiscal year. They will spend about 2.3 percent of that on programs to prevent or stop tobacco use, the report said.

North Carolina received $428 million in tobacco revenue, and spent almost 5 percent of that on prevention programs, the report said.

According to the report said that smoking-related health-care costs $95.9 billion a year nationwide.

Tobacco companies agreed in 1998 to settle lawsuits several states brought over smoking-related health-care costs by paying them about $206 billion over more than 20 years.

The largest U.S. tobacco company, Altria Group Inc. -- based in Richmond and the maker of Skoal chewing tobacco and top-selling Marlboros -- pays a majority of that. Spokesman David Sutton said that states should use more of the settlement money for youth-smoking prevention and health-related initiatives.

Matthew Myers, the president of the Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids, said that states on average have never spent as much the CDC would like, but the total has declined dramatically in recent years.