Jump to full article: AP, 2009-05-26
Author: JOHN CURRAN
Intro: But smokers who want to kick the habit may soon be on their own.
Cash-strapped state governments are slashing funding for tobacco prevention and cessation programs in a move anti-tobacco groups say could backfire, costing taxpayers later for treatment of tobacco-related illnesses among people who might've quit.
"We understand the economic times and the pressure that budget makers are under, but right now, this is a penny-wise, pound-foolish approach," said Peter Fisher, vice president of state issues for the Campaign for Tobacco Free Kids, a Washington-based advocacy group.
In Vermont, a recently adopted state budget reduced funding for anti-tobacco efforts by $1.9 million from the previous year, which critics say will force cutbacks in youth smoking-prevention activities and at hospitals that offer in-person smoking-cessation counseling and nicotine-replacement therapy.
Other states have made similar cuts, or are contemplating them:
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