INDIANAPOLIS – Indiana is one of 21 states spending less than 10 percent of the federal recommendation on tobacco prevention programs.
And that amount has dropped steadily since the states settled their lawsuits against the major tobacco companies in 1998. Indiana’s initial allocation on cessation programs was $32 million a year and is now just $5 million annually.
“Every state has its own reasons and political climate, however, in general I would say that most people have forgotten where the money comes from and what it was intended to be used for,” said Danielle Patterson, Indiana government relations director for the American Heart Association and chair of the lobby committee for Tobacco Free Indiana.
“Unfortunately, there has been no oversight and no accountability to insure that the settlement money goes for tobacco cessation and prevention programs.”
A new national report from the Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids examined whether states are keeping their promise to use a significant portion of settlement funds – estimated at $246 billion over the first 25 years – to attack the enormous public health problems caused by tobacco use in the United States.
Most of Indiana’s money goes to health care related purposes, said Senate Appropriations Chairman Luke Kenley, R-Noblesville.
The state’s biennial budget allocated $141 million in tobacco settlement funds for fiscal year 2016.
Almost $60 million goes to various programs inside the Indiana State Department of Health, including helping children with special health needs, community health centers and $5 million to the Tobacco Use Prevention and Cessation Program.
Another $43 million goes to the Indiana Family and Social Services Administration, including residential services for developmentally disabled persons and substance abuse treatment.