A Broken Promise to Our Children: The 1998 State Tobacco Settlement Six Years Later

Publication Date:

Publisher: Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids

Author(s): Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids

Research Area: Health

Type: Report

Abstract:

In the November 1998 multi-state tobacco settlement, states made promises to use a significant portion of settlement funds to combat the tremendous public health problem of tobacco use in the United States. This annual report, compiled by a coalition of public health organizations, finds that only three states—Maine, Delaware and Mississippi—are funding prevention programs at the minimum levels recommended by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Thirty-seven states and the District of Columbia fund these programs at less than half the minimum level or provide no state funding at all. Over the last three years, states have cut funding for tobacco prevention programs. Meanwhile, tobacco companies have increased their annual marketing expenditures by 84 percent since the 1998 tobacco settlement. States' failures to develop and maintain tobacco prevention programs represents a missed opportunity to save lives by using one of the surest ways to protect health and cut health care costs. According to John R. Seffrin, chief executive officer of the American Cancer Society, "Studies show that comprehensive tobacco prevention and control programs work, but only if they are adequately funded. It is a long-term investment to prevent death and disease and reduce billions of dollars spent treating tobacco related illnesses. The states can and must do better."