December 11, 2009
States have cut funding for programs to reduce tobacco use by more than 15 percent in the past year, even as they are collecting record amounts of money from the 1998 tobacco settlement and tobacco taxes, according to a report released by a coalition of public health organizations.
The report warns that with the nation's adult smoking rate stalled after decades of decline, continued progress is at risk unless states significantly increase funding for programs to prevent kids from smoking and help smokers quit.
It also calls on Congress to include adequate funding for disease prevention initiatives, including tobacco prevention and cessation, in the health care reform legislation now under consideration.
The report, "A Broken Promise to Our Children: The 1998 State Tobacco Settlement 11 Years Later," was released by the Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids, American Heart Association, American Cancer Society Cancer Action Network, American Lung Association and Robert Wood Johnson Foundation. It is designed to determine whether the states are using money from the state tobacco settlements -- estimated to total $246 billion over the first 25 years -- to fight tobacco use. The states also collect billions more each year from tobacco taxes.
Among the findings of this year's report:
• The states this year (Fiscal Year 2010) will collect $25.1 billion in revenue from the tobacco settlement and tobacco taxes, but are spending just 2.3 percent of it -- $567.5 million -- on tobacco prevention and cessation programs (the states also receive $62 million in federal grants for tobacco prevention, for total funding of $629.5 million). With more states expected to increase tobacco taxes in the coming year, that revenue figure is certain to increase.
• In the past year, states have cut funding for tobacco prevention by $103.4 million, or 15.4 percent. Including cuts approved just last week, New York made the largest cut -- $25.2 million, or 31 percent -- despite having a successful program that has reduced smoking to well below national rates. Other states with large cuts include Colorado, Maryland, Pennsylvania and Washington.
• Only one state -- North Dakota -- currently funds a tobacco prevention program at the level recommended by the CDC. Only nine other states fund tobacco prevention at even half the CDC-recommended level, while 31 states and DC provide less than a quarter of the recommended funding.
• Tobacco companies spend $20 to market tobacco products for every one dollar the states spend to fight tobacco use. According to the latest data from the Federal Trade Commission, tobacco companies spend $12.8 billion a year on marketing.
Smoking declines stall
Recent surveys have found that smoking declines in the United States have slowed and even stalled. In November, the CDC reported the adult smoking rate in 2008 was 20.6 percent -- essentially unchanged since 2004 when 20.9 percent smoked. While smoking among high school students has declined by 45 percent from a high of 36.4 percent in 1997, 20 percent of high schoolers still smoke and declines have slowed in recent years.
"To continue reducing tobacco use, elected officials at all levels must resist complacency and redouble efforts to implement proven strategies," said Matthew L. Myers, President of the Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids. "Despite their current budget challenges, the states lack excuses for failing to do more. They are collecting record amounts of tobacco money, more of which should be used to fight the tobacco problem.
"[T]here 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," Myers said. "Those states that make short-sighted decisions to cut tobacco prevention will pay a steep price in lives and dollars."
The report cites conclusive evidence that tobacco prevention and cessation programs work to reduce smoking, save lives and save money. Maine, which has long had one of the best-funded programs, has reduced smoking by 71 percent among middle school students and by 64 percent among high school students since 1997.
