Prevention Efforts No Priority of Tobacco Money (moved from ATSNN)

townhall.com
(AP) Study: States Misdirecting Tobacco Money
Dec 1 2005

By JONATHAN M. KATZ
Associated Press Writer

WASHINGTON

Just a fraction of the money that states received from tobacco settlements and taxes is being used to prevent smoking, advocacy groups reported in a study Wednesday.

The report, "A Broken Promise to Our Children," was released by the Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids, American Heart Association, American Cancer Society and American Lung Association.

Some $551 million is allocated for tobacco-use prevention programs in the 2006 budget year, the study said. That pales in comparison with the $1.6 billion recommended by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, said Vince Willmore, spokesman for the campaign.

Even that amount would represent a small part of the $21.3 billion available to states this year from the 1998 tobacco settlement and state tobacco taxes.

Only Maine, Colorado, Delaware and Mississippi spend at least the minimum levels recommended by the CDC, the study said.

Michigan, Missouri, New Hampshire South Carolina, Tennessee and the District of Columbia spend no state funds at all, the report found, while 30 other states fund at less than half of the recommended amount.

States sell tobacco-related funds to pay off budget shortfalls and use them for capital campaigns and construction projects, the report said.




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