SETTLEMENT DOLLARS: State use of tobacco funds gets low marks

Georgia ranks next to last in the nation in spending on programs to discourage children from taking up smoking and help smokers quit the habit, according to a report released Tuesday by a coalition of public health groups.

While Georgia will collect $393 million this year from the 1998 national tobacco manufacturers settlement and tobacco taxes, it will spend less than 1 percent —- about $3 million —- on preventing tobacco use, the study said. It placed Georgia 50th of all states and the District of Columbia.

“Georgia is one of the most disappointing states when it comes to funding programs to protect kids from tobacco,” said Matthew Myers, president of the Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids.

“Tobacco prevention is a smart investment that reduces smoking, saves lives and saves money by reducing tobacco-related health care costs,” he said, calling on the state to direct more dollars to stop-smoking initiatives.

The report —- 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 —- concluded that most states had failed to use a significant portion of their tobacco money to fund tobacco-control programs.

The highest-ranked state was Alaska, and the lowest was South Carolina, according to the report.

In Georgia, 18.6 percent of high school students smoke, and 11,300 more children will become regular smokers every year, the report said. Each year, tobacco claims 10,300 lives in Georgia and costs the state $2.2 billion in health care bills.

June Deen, advocacy director for the American Lung Association of Georgia, called the shift in tobacco-settlement dollars “a broken promise … that breaks our heart.

“Those dollars were intended to prevent children from starting to smoke and to help people quit,” she said. “People don’t have to die from smoking.

“We’re far too comfortable with tobacco in this culture.”

The state has reduced media campaigns directing people to a hotline to help quit the habit, and the number of calls has plummeted. In 2002, the line received 23,000 calls. In 2007, it received just 3,595.

The 1998 settlement between states and major tobacco companies was awarded to help states recover tobacco-related health care costs. In the 10 years since, Georgia has received $1.42 billion. But the state has used most of that money for programs other than smoking cessation and prevention, including rural economic development, cancer research, and general health care such as Medicaid hospital costs and care for the mentally disabled.

Despite minimal spending, the state is making progress in stopping smoking, said Sandra Ford, Georgia’s acting director of the Division of Public Health. She cited a drop in the number of adults in Georgia who smoke —- from 22 percent in 2005 to 19 percent in 2007.

But Ford warned that stop-smoking programs may face cuts as the state budget suffers under the strained economy. Ford said she did believe that there is a correlation between the amount of money spent on these programs and the reduction in the number of people smoking.

The office of Gov. Sonny Perdue has said the tobacco-settlement dollars have shifted according to budget priorities.

To see the report, go to: www.tobaccofreekids.org/reports/settlements

10,300

The number of Georgians killed by tobacco each year.

19 percent

The percent of Georgia adults and the percent of high school students who smoke.

$1.42 billion

The amount Georgia has received from the tobacco settlement over 10 years.

$106 million

The amount Georgia has spent on tobacco-control programs.

$393 million

The total amount of money that Georgia will receive this year from the 1998 tobacco settlement and tobacco taxes.

$3.2 million

The amount Georgia will spend this year on tobacco-prevention programs.

$444 million

The amount that tobacco companies will spend this year on marketing in Georgia.

Source: 2008 national report “A Decade of Broken Promises”

HOTLINE

The Georgia Tobacco Quit Line: 1-877-270-STOP. In Spanish, 1-877-2NO-FUME, and for the hearing impaired at 1-877-777-6534.