Bart Pfankuch
South Dakota News Watch
If lawmakers approve Gov. Kristi Noem's proposal to cut the state tobacco prevention fund, , anti-tobacco advocates say more children are likely to use tobacco and nicotine products, more adults will die early and the state will pay millions of dollars in new health care costs over the long run.
Since 2007, South Dakota has allocated $5 million annually to a fund that pays for programs to help tobacco users give up the habit and to prevent children and adults from ever starting.
The money pays for counseling services through the South Dakota Quitline, for medications to help people kick the addictive habit and for state and local tobacco-prevention programs.
The money comes from the state tax on annual sales of tobacco products, mainly cigarettes, and was part of Initiated Measure 2 that voters passed in 2006 to raise the tax on a pack of cigarettes by $1 and increase the taxes on other tobacco products.
The IM2 ballot measure also dictated that the first $30 million in tobacco taxes would go to the state general fund and the next $5 million would go to a new Tobacco Prevention and Reduction Trust Fund, which pays for the South Dakota Tobacco Control Program.
Tobacco tax revenues over the $35 million level would also flow into the general fund. IM 2 passed with almost 61% of the vote.
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This story was produced by South Dakota News Watch, an independent, nonprofit organization. Read more stories and donate at sdnewswatch.org and sign up for an email to get stories when they're published. Contact Bart Pfankuch at .
