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Protect Funding for Tobacco Prevention and Cessation Programs

July 21, 2017

Tobacco use remains Texas’ leading preventable cause of death and is the leading cause of cancer deaths in Texas. An estimated 28,000 Texans die annually from tobacco-related illnesses.

 

Texas spends nearly $9 billion in annual health care costs directly caused by smoking. These costs are borne by taxpayers, employers and families regardless of whether they used tobacco products.

 

It is well established that adequately funded tobacco prevention programs save lives. Unfortunately, Texas invests a minimal amount in tobacco prevention compared to what Texas receives in tobacco revenues. The state will collect a combined $1.9 billion in 2017 from tobacco tax revenues and the 1998 tobacco settlement’s annual payment, but will spend only 0.5percent of the money on tobacco prevention.

 

More funding for tobacco prevention will reduce smoking rates, and tobacco-related health care costs. And importantly: It will prevent children from becoming addicted adult smokers.

 

During the 2017 Texas Legislative session, ACS CAN was unsuccessful in turning back drastic cuts to tobacco prevention funding at the Department of State Health Services that unfortunately ended up being passed due to broader budget restrictions. ACS CAN will continue to fight for prevention funding

i Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids, The Toll of Tobacco in Texas, December 2016. 
ii Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, National Center for Health Statistics. Multiple Cause of Death 1999-2015 on CDC WONDER Online Database, released 2015. Data are from the Multiple Cause of Death Files, 1999-2015, as compiled from data provided by the 57 vital statistics jurisdictions through the Vital Statistics Cooperative Program. Accessed at http://wonder.cdc.gov/mcd-icd10.html
iii NWS Weather Fatality, Injury, and Damage Statistics. (2016, April 6). Retrieved from http://www.nws.noaa.gov/om/hazstats.shtml

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