State Spending On Anti-Smoking Efforts Lax?
Report Suggests States Not Spending Enough
POSTED: Wednesday, November 19, 2008
  |
Ten years after the tobacco settlement between the industry and the states, a national report suggested states aren't spending enough on programs to keep people from smoking.The Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids said that no states fund prevention efforts at the minimum levels suggested by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Only nine states reach half of the recommended level.States get money under a settlement reached with tobacco companies over tobacco-related health care costs.Over the past decade, states have taken in more than $200 billion of revenue, including cigarette taxes -- but only 3 percent of that money has gone to anti-smoking efforts. The report said that this year alone, states will take in $24.6 billion from taxes and the settlement.The CDC recently updated recommendations for how much states put into tobacco prevention programs, taking into account inflation, population gains and new science.South Carolina, with the lowest-in-the-nation cigarette tax at 7 cents a pack, ranked last in the study, while Alaska is first at 86 percent. Alaska spends $9.2 million on anti-smoking efforts; South Carolina spends $1 million.After Alaska, the rest of the top 10 are Delaware, Wyoming, Hawaii, Montana, Maine, Vermont, South Dakota, Colorado and Arkansas. The full list is available here.Overall, states will spend $718.1 million on the effort this year, the report said. It compares that to the $13.4 billion tobacco companies spend on marketing.
Distributed by Internet Broadcasting Systems, Inc. The Associated Press contributed to this report. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
Two men rob a crowded fast-food restaurant, KPRC Local 2 reports.
A man is accused of stabbing his cousin to death, KPRC Local 2 reports.
Jan. 8, 2008: Deputies need help finding the person who killed a man in northeast Harris County, KPRC Local 2 reports.
The adult entertainment business is the latest industry looking for bailout cash.
On a dare from the La Marque High School Cheerleaders during KPRC Local 2's Friday Football Frenzy, Lauren Freeman shows off her Bobcats cheerleading pictures from Childress High School.
New on DVD this week is "Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull" -- the fourth movie in the Indiana Jones movie saga, which dates back to 1981. Let's take a look at the stars of the films then and now.
The comedy classic "Caddyshack" rolled in the green as a major hit in 1980. What are the surviving stars of the movie up to today?
KPRC Local 2 is helping law enforcement agencies put wanted criminals behind bars. Check out the fugitives featured on the Wheel of Justice.
Hurricane Ike leaves its mark on Galveston and the surrounding communities.
Email Alerts
RSS News Feeds
Mobile
Live Streams
Slideshows
Video
Search
