Tennessee ranks dead last for the amount of money it spends to prevent smoking. That’s from a new report out this week by the Campaign for Tobacco Free Kids. The state slipped eleven spaces down the list this year after spending on tobacco prevention dropped by almost 5 million dollars.
The report says cigarette companies spend more than 200 dollars marketing in Tennessee for every dollar the state spends on tobacco prevention.
Assistant state health commissioner Cathy Taylor calls the budget situation “bleak.”
She says Tennessee’s stockpile of medicine to help smokers quit is depleted.
“Our choices are very difficult. While we recognize that tobacco cessation is very important, we are spending the dollars that we have available to us at this point.”
Federal dollars make up the bulk of tobacco prevention funds in the state.
Taylor says Tennesseeans can still call the state’s free hotline to help quit. And she hopes a few important policy changes will keep the state from backsliding. Taylor cites the ban on smoking in workplaces and most restaurants, as well as a tax hike on cigarettes.
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