Ten Years After Tobacco Settlement, States Falling Short in Funding Tobacco Prevention
An annual report on states' funding of tobacco prevention programs, titled "A Decade of Broken
Promises," was released by the Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids, American Heart Association, American
Cancer Society Cancer Action Network, American Lung Association and the Robert Wood Johnson
Foundation.
Ten years after the November 1998 state tobacco settlement, Indiana and Illinois rank 28th and 43rd in the nation in funding programs to protect kids from tobacco, according to a national report released today by a coalition of public health organizations.
Illinois currently spends $9.5 million a year on tobacco prevention programs, which is 6.1 percent of
the $157 million recommended by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).
Other key findings for Illinois include:
-- The tobacco companies spend more than $471 million a year on marketing
in Illinois. This is almost 50 times what the state spends on tobacco
prevention.
-- Illinois this year will collect $913 million from the tobacco
settlement and tobacco taxes, but will spend just 1 percent of it on
tobacco prevention.
Indiana currently spends $16 million a year on tobacco prevention programs, which is 20.3 percent of
the $78.8 million recommended by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).
Other key findings for Indiana include:
-- The tobacco companies spend more than $425 million a year on marketing
in Indiana. This is more than 26 times what the state spends on
tobacco prevention.
-- Indiana this year will collect $660 million from the tobacco
settlement and tobacco taxes, but will spend just 2.4 percent of it on
tobacco prevention.
The report warns that the nation faces two immediate challenges in the fight against tobacco use:
complacency and looming state budget shortfalls. First, while the nation has made significant progress
over the past decade in reducing smoking, progress has slowed and further progress is at risk without
aggressive efforts at all levels of government.
Second, the states are expected to face budget
shortfalls in the coming year as a result of the weak economy. The last time the states faced
significant budget shortfalls, they cut funding for tobacco prevention programs by 28 percent between
2002 and 2005. The cutbacks are a major reason why smoking declines subsequently stalled, and states
should not make the same mistake again.
On Nov. 23, 1998, 46 states settled their lawsuits against the nation's major tobacco companies to
recover tobacco-related health care costs, joining four states (Mississippi, Texas, Florida and
Minnesota) that had reached earlier settlements. These settlements require the tobacco companies to
make annual payments to the states in perpetuity, with total payments estimated at $246 billion over
the first 25 years. The states also collect billions of dollars each year in tobacco taxes.
The new report finds that most states have broken their promise to use a significant portion of their
tobacco money to fund programs to prevent kids from smoking and help smokers quit.
According to the report, the states in the last 10 years have received $203.5 billion in revenue from
the tobacco settlement and tobacco taxes. But they have spent only 3.2 percent of this tobacco money
-- $6.5 billion -- on tobacco prevention and cessation programs.
In recent years, Indiana has taken several important steps to protect kids from tobacco. In 2007,
Governor Mitch Daniels and the Legislature increased tobacco prevention funding by nearly 50 percent
and raised the cigarette tax by 44 cents to 99.5 cents per pack. Cigarette consumption in Indiana
decreased by almost a fifth from 2007 to 2008 and was accompanied by a 260 percent increase in calls
to the state's smoking cessation quitline.
The annual report on states' funding of tobacco prevention programs, titled "A Decade of Broken
Promises," was released by the Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids, American Heart Association, American
Cancer Society Cancer Action Network, American Lung Association and the Robert Wood Johnson
Foundation.
The new report finds that most states have broken their promise to use a significant portion of their
tobacco money to fund programs to prevent kids from smoking and help smokers quit.
In Indiana, 22.5 percent of high school students smoke, and 9,800 more kids become regular smokers
every year. Each year, tobacco claims 9,800 lives and costs the state $2.1 billion in health care
bills.
The report warns that the nation faces two immediate challenges in the fight against tobacco use:
complacency and looming state budget shortfalls. First, while the nation has made significant progress
over the past decade in reducing smoking, progress has slowed and further progress is at risk without
aggressive efforts at all levels of government. Second, the states are expected to face budget
shortfalls in the coming year as a result of the weak economy. The last time the states faced
significant budget shortfalls, they cut funding for tobacco prevention programs by 28 percent between
2002 and 2005. The cutbacks are a major reason why smoking declines subsequently stalled, and states
should not make the same mistake again.
The report found that there is more evidence than ever that tobacco prevention programs work to reduce
smoking, save lives and save money by reducing tobacco-related health care costs. Washington State,
which has been a national leader in funding tobacco prevention, has reduced smoking by 60 percent
among sixth graders and by 43 percent among 12th graders since the late 1990s. A recent study found
that California's tobacco control program saved $86 billion in health care costs in its first 15
years, compared to $1.8 billion spent on the program, for a return on investment of nearly 50:1.
More information, including the full report and state-specific information, can be obtained at
www.tobaccofreekids.org/reports/settlements.
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