WASHINGTON, Nov. 18 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- Ten years after the November 1998 state tobacco settlement, Vermont ranks seventh 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.
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Vermont currently spends $6.1 million a year on tobacco prevention programs, which is 58.7 percent of the $10.4 million recommended by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). It is one of only nine states that are spending more than half of what the CDC recommends.
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Other key findings for Vermont include:
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.
Moving forward, Vermont's leaders have an opportunity to further their commitment to protecting kids from tobacco by allocating the bonus tobacco settlement payments the state began receiving last year to tobacco prevention.
"Vermont has made a solid commitment and is one of the top 10 states this year when it comes to protecting kids from tobacco," said Matthew L. Myers, President of the Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids. "But Vermont still spends less than 60 percent of what the CDC recommends. On this 10th anniversary of the tobacco settlement, we call on Vermont's leaders to build on their commitment by increasing funding to the CDC's recommended amount. Tobacco prevention is a smart investment that reduces smoking, saves lives and saves money by reducing tobacco-related health care costs."
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.
Other findings of the report include:
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.
In Vermont, 18.2 percent of high school students smoke, and 700 more kids become regular smokers every year. Each year, tobacco claims 900 lives and costs the state $233 million in health care bills.
More information, including the full report and state-specific information, can be obtained at www.tobaccofreekids.org/reports/settlements.
(NOTE: The CDC recently updated its recommended funding for state tobacco prevention programs, taking into account new science, population increases, inflation and other cost factors. In most cases, the new recommendations are higher than previous ones. This report is the first to assess the states based on these new recommendations.)
-- The tobacco companies spend more than $28.2 million a year on marketing in Vermont. This is almost five times what the state spends on tobacco prevention. -- Vermont this year will collect $101 million from the tobacco settlement and tobacco taxes, but will spend just 6 percent of it on tobacco prevention.
SOURCE Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids
