Anti-smoking advocates target Michigan spending

[onehandle]

Source: South Bend Tribune

LANSING — Ten years after major tobacco companies agreed to pay about $8 billion annually for 25 years to Michigan and other states, some states aren't using the money as it was intended, health experts say.

Michigan received $290 million of it in 2008 and is among the worst offenders in how it spends the cash, according to several anti-smoking advocates.

"Michigan has not used a single penny for tobacco prevention and control," said Susan Schechter, director of advocacy for the Michigan chapter of the American Lung Association. "It was a wonderful opportunity but we missed the boat."

The 10-year-old court agreement that settled multiple lawsuits against tobacco companies doesn't explicitly mandate that the money be used for tobacco control.

Read more: http://www.southbendtribune.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20081201/News01/812010258

[Mari333]

1. cigarettes here cost your mortgage payment

seriously..they are 5 bucks a pack. i would think the COST in and of itself would be a major deterrent!
michigan is broke. really broke. we need to money for a lot more then ad campaigns against tobacco for petes sake.
right now people here live in boxes and cars and under bridges. and thats in the small towns too.
i can understand that these advocacy groups are all a twitter about their cause, but there are bigger fish to fry here.

[bpcmxr]

2. $10/pack here in NYC.

I think the price IS a deterrent for some here. I know it helped me quit.

[Mari333]

4. yikes/

well its also adjusted to cost of living and wages here. the top pay here is 6 bucks an hour. and there are no jobs. none. you can buy a house here for peanuts. and even the homes arent selling.
i am sure its pretty rough in ny also.

[hughee99]

3. The tobacco lawsuit was never about reducing its use

it was all about increasing revenue for the states.

[nc4bo]

5. Of course it wasn't. They should legalize Mary Jane and tax the hell out of that too

It's not like people haven't been saying it over and over again for years....

What ARE they doing with all that cash I wonder?

[amdezurik]

12. I would love just having the present tax on pot enforced

in 1934 a tax of $100 an ounce was imposed and (AFAIK) never changed, imagine all the tons grown and processed and sold every month at $1600/lb...

[ElboRuum]

6. Just a question to, well, anyone who can answer it...

Fact.

Ten years ago, the major tobacco companies lost a lawsuit that resulted in an outlay of roughly $200 billion spread out to a bunch of states over the course of 25 years.

Fact.

The court agreement does not explicitly mandate that the money be used on anti-smoking programs and tobacco control measures, presumably the intent of bringing the lawsuits in the first place.

If these facts are accurate, what does it mean when the article states that "Michigan received $290 million of it in 2008 and is among the worst offenders in how it spends the cash, according to several anti-smoking advocates"?

If there is nothing explicitly mandating this cash outlay, where is the offense, precisely?

Mea culpa: I did not RTFA, so if it's in there, I apologize.

[onehandle]

7. The American Lung Association and others are not talking about a legal offense, but a moral offense.

There was an understanding that a fair share of the cash would go towards keeping kids from starting smoking.

Many states put much of it towards anti-smoking programs, Michigan didn't.

[ElboRuum]

8. Wait...

"There was an understanding"?

Spit and a handshake, in other words? The adult equivalent of a pinky swear?

You know, I can understand why they're upset, but honestly, in this age did they not see that coming?

[onehandle]

9. When the tobacco friendly Bush administration stole the election, anti-smoking efforts...

...effectively ended from an oversight point of view.

Notice that after ten years this is "suddenly" being brought up.

I think the tobacco companies are going to be retargeted all around now that the Bushies are leaving.

[WriteDown]

10. Every administration should be tobacco friendly...

If you are not going to be, then pass a law to make it illegal. Anything else is hypocrisy. Considering Obama is a former smoker, I hope he puts an end to this lunacy.

[onehandle]

11. All I want is for the government to label tobacco a drug, which it is.

That would change everything.

The effort ended with the Clinton administration. I hope it will be coming back around.

[ElboRuum]

13. How do you see this "changing everything?"

Is this to mean that this would be a springboard into further and further regulation?

[Psephos]

14. The tobacco companies are not going to be targeted again - future immunity was part of the deal

Meanwhile, the lawsuits were won by moral suasion, with the proceeds awarded to provide remedy against past injustices and damages.

In other words, it was a fraud perpetrated by the states, who simply said whatever needed to be said to collect cash.