Many States Ignore Prevention in Plans to Spend Tobacco Funds

WASHINGTON—In at least one-third of the states, legislators have proposed spending less than 2% of the funds the state will receive from last year’s tobacco settlement on antitobacco prevention programs, according to a new report by the Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids and the American Heart Association (AHA). The AHA says many state legislators are ignoring evidence that tobacco prevention programs work, especially those aimed at young people.

Four states have made a commitment to fund tobacco prevention programs beyond a minimal level, and eight others are considering such proposals. But in one-third of the states and the District of Columbia, allocating of funds was dominated by proposals for things totally unrelated to the purposes for which the states brought their lawsuits, such as reducing the car tax in Rhode Island and funding college scholarships in Michigan.