A Broken Promise to Our Children: The 1998 State Tobacco Settlement 14 Years Later

 On December 6, 2012, a coalition of national public health organizations published its annual national report on how much each State funds tobacco control programs with State funds. The annual report is entitled, “A Broken Promise to Our Children: The 1998 State Tobacco Settlement 14 Years Later.” The 2012 report found that New Jersey now ranks 50th (in last place) in the nation to fund its statewide tobacco control programs, tied with New Hampshire, North Carolina and Ohio. Neighboring Delaware ranks 3rd, New York 21st, Connecticut 23rd, Pennsylvania 28th. The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) recommends that New Jersey spend $119.8 million per year on its statewide tobacco control program.

• Read the 2012 report summary on funding New Jersey’s tobacco control program.
• Read the December 29, 2012 NJ Star-Ledger’s Opinion Letter by the American Cancer Society.
• Read the 50-State 2012 ranking list.

The 2011 report ranked New Jersey at 43rd, so NJ’s ranking fell from 2011-2012. Statewide tobacco control programs help to provide smokefree air for nonsmokers, prevent youth from starting to smoke, and help smokers quit. The coalition that publishes the report is comprised of Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids, American Heart Association, American Cancer Society Cancer Action Network, American Lung Association and the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation. Read the coalition’s December 6, 2012 press release.

The prior year’s national report published on November 30, 2011 ranked New Jersey at 43rd in funding tobacco control programs. The 2010 report published November 17, 2010 ranked NJ at 46th. For the prior FY 2009-10, New Jersey state-funded its tobacco control program at $7.5 million, but for FY 2010-11 that dropped to $600,000. For FY 2011-12, New Jersey budgeted $1.2 million for FY 2011-12 for tobacco prevention and cessation programs, but for FY 2012-13 New Jersey eliminated its state funding for the program. Read the press release from 2010, and the Star-Ledger’s November 17 and November 18, 2010 news stories on New Jersey’s drop in ranking and the implications for tobacco control in New Jersey.

Other key findings of the 2012 annual report for New Jersey include:

• In the past years, New Jersey has eliminated almost all State-funding for its tobacco prevention program (from $11 million to $0).
• In 2012 (FY 2012-13), New Jersey is expected to collect $997 million in tobacco generated revenue, up $36 million from FY 2011-12. In 2011 (FY 2011-12), New Jersey was expected to collect $961 million in tobacco generated revenue, mostly from tobacco taxes and some from the 1998 tobacco settlement, which translates into New Jersey spending only 0.1% of tobacco generated revenue on tobacco prevention programs.
• For FY 2012-13, the tobacco companies are expected to spend $158 million a year to market their products in New Jersey.