State Tobacco Control Program Spending--United States, 2011

Evidence-based, statewide tobacco control programs that are comprehensive, sustained, and accountable reduce smoking rates and tobacco-related diseases and deaths. States that made larger investments in tobacco prevention and control have seen larger declines in cigarettes sales than the United States as a whole, and the prevalence of smoking has declined faster as spending for tobacco control programs has increased. CDC's Best Practices for Comprehensive Tobacco Control Programs (Best Practices) outlines the elements of an evidence-based state tobacco control program and provides recommended state funding levels to substantially reduce tobacco-related disease, disability, and death. To analyze states' spending in relation to program components outlined within Best Practices, CDC assessed state tobacco control programs' expenditures for fiscal year 2011. In 2011, states spent approximately $658 million on tobacco control and prevention, which accounts for less than 3% of the states' revenues from the sale of tobacco products and only 17.8% of the level recommended by CDC. Evidence suggests that funding tobacco prevention and control efforts at the levels recommended in Best Practices could achieve larger and more rapid reductions in tobacco use and associated morbidity and mortality.