Tennessee Ranks 34th in Protecting Kids from Tobacco

Source from:  Thursday, Dec 20, 2007 BY TriCities.com Staff Reports 12/21/2007

A national report shows Tennessee is helping protect youths from tobacco use. The Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids, American Heart Association, American Cancer Society Cancer Action Network and American Lung Association released the report, "A Broken Promise to our Children." According to the report, Tennessee ranks 34th in the nation in funding programs to protect kids from tobacco. The volunteer state currently spends $10 million a year on tobacco prevention programs, which is 31 percent of the minimum amount of $32.2 million recommended by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). Last year, Tennessee ranked last in the nation, spending nothing on tobacco prevention. Tennessee Tobacco Turnaround "A Broken Promise to our Children" report's key findings for Tennessee include: * The tobacco companies spend more than $406 million a year on marketing in Tennessee. This is more than 40 times what the state spends on tobacco prevention. * Tennessee this year will collect $511.5 million from the tobacco settlement and tobacco taxes, but will spend just 2 percent of it on tobacco prevention. *Earlier this year, the state Legislature approved a plan proposed by Governor Phil Bredesen to allocate $10 million for programs to keep kids from smoking and help smokers quit, a historic move for a state that has no history of spending money on tobacco prevention. Bredesen also proposed and the Legislature approved a new smoke-free workplace law and a 42-cent increase in the state cigarette tax. Enditem