States Continue to Slash Funding for Tobacco Prevention and Control Programs

The nation's economic hardships have also translated into a disturbing trend for state tobacco control and prevention programs. Many states made significant cuts to these vital public health programs. Often, states that increased cigarette and/or tobacco taxes slashed these programs the most (see section above).

In 2009, only North Dakota funded tobacco prevention and control programs at the levels recommended by the CDC in its Best Practices for Comprehensive Tobacco Control Programs—2007. Voters drove this decision: In November 2008, North Dakota voters approved a ballot initiative to use Master Settlement Agreement dollars to fully fund the program. Besides North Dakota, only Alaska funded its tobacco control program at 80 percent or more of the CDC-recommended level. Both states earned an "A" in this year's State of Tobacco Control report. Only five states—Arkansas, Florida, North Dakota, Oklahoma and South Carolina—increased their funding for tobacco control programs in 2009.

Forty states and the District of Columbia received "F's" for spending less than 50 percent of the amount the CDC recommends. New Hampshire spends no state money (only the small allotment of money from the CDC) on tobacco prevention and control programs, despite taking in millions of dollars from tobacco tax revenue and Master Settlement Agreement funds.

As highlighted above, Wisconsin severely cut its tobacco control programs to $6.85 million, less than 10 percent of what is recommended by CDC. The state is to be commended for increasing its cigarette tax and passing a comprehensive smokefree law. Yet Governor Doyle and the legislature, through these deep cuts to Wisconsin's tobacco control programs, have missed two important opportunities: to keep more kids from starting to smoke and to encourage even more current smokers to stop.

Even successful tobacco control programs have not avoided the budget axe. Washington state, for example, boasts a tobacco control program that has contributed to a close to 30 percent reduction in adult smoking rates and close to 50 percent reduction in youth smoking rates since 2002. Despite that success story, lawmakers in Washington state chose to cut funding by close to half in fiscal years 2010 and 2011. After the current two-year budget period, funding for the program could be eliminated completely.