I was very disappointed to read that Gov. Sonny Perdue vetoed House Bill 887, which would have created an advisory committee to recommend to the governor, lieutenant governor and speaker of the house the best tobacco use prevention and education programs and practices to reduce smoking rates in Georgia.

The bill had overwhelming support in both the House (138-13) and the Senate (49-0) before being sent to the governor's desk. Funds from the tobacco Master Settlement Agreement are supposed to be spent on tobacco use education and prevention. But in Georgia, less than 2 percent of the MSA dollars are spent on this.

In 2007, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommended investing at least 30 percent of tobacco tax revenue and all the settlement funds for an effective tobacco control program in Georgia. The money would be well spent, since tobacco-related health care costs total more than $2.2 billion in Georgia. Among the state's high school students, one out of five boys and one out of every six girls are smokers. Research tells us that most smokers take their first puff between ages 13 and 18.

In his veto message, Perdue said remedies already exist for ensuring that tobacco settlement dollars are spent properly in Georgia. But if that were true, Georgia wouldn't be last or near last among the states on money spent on tobacco education and prevention from the tobacco settlement dollars.

The status quo simply isn't working, and HB 887 addressed the issue with an inclusive plan that created an advisory committee comprising two House and Senate representatives, the Department of Human Resources, the Department of Community Health, the Medical Association of Georgia, a public health professional from Georgia State University, the American Heart Association, American Cancer Society, American Lung Association and the Georgia Medical Association.

I will use my influence to work with American Cancer Society staff and HB 887 sponsors Rep. Mark Butler (R-Carrollton) and Sen. Renee Unterman (R-Loganville) to introduce the bill again next year. Georgia needs to be doing all it can to discourage our youth and adults from smoking and to reduce health care costs attributed to smoking by offering effective programs.

> Donna E. Miller is the American Cancer Society's volunteer lead state ambassador.