Government’s Broken Promise: Tobacco Prevention Funds Slashed! December 11
Tobacco is being touted as the leading cause of death that is highly preventable in the United States. It is therefore imperative that programs aimed at curbing tobacco use are well-funded, in the hope that it will lead to decreasing death rates due to tobacco use.
A report, entitled “A Broken Promise to Our Children: The 1998 State Tobacco Settlement 11 Years Later,” was recently released by the American Cancer Society Cancer Action Network, the Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids, the American Heart Association, the American Lung Association and the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation. Among the findings is the fact that states have slashed funding for tobacco prevention programs “by more than 15 percent in the past year”.
The report determined that a total of $103.4 million was cut from the funding for tobacco prevention programs in the United States. The largest cut, amounting to $25 million, was made by the state of New York, which ironically was able to decrease smoking rates to well below the national average through its tobacco cessation programs.
North Dakota is reportedly the only state that allocates funding for tobacco cessation programs according to the level recommended by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Nine states allocate funding at half the recommended rate, while 31 provide less than a quarter of the recommended funding.
Of the $25.1 billion in revenue that is expected from tobacco settlement and taxes in 2010, only $567.5 million or 2.3% will be spent on tobacco prevention programs.
In the meantime, 3,500 Americans light up their first cigarette everyday, beginning an irreversible health risk. Four hundred thousand lives are lost due to tobacco use every year, with patients spending $96 billion in health-care dollars. On a daily basis, a thousand more children and teenagers develop smoking as a regular habit and may be headed for an early date with the grave.
Tags: government no smoking, government tobacco program, no smoking, smoking prevention