Report ranks Mass. 33rd in anti-tobacco spending

Massachusetts ranks 33rd in the nation in funding anti-smoking programs, according to a national coalition of public health organizations.

The state will take in $711 million from tobacco settlement funds and tobacco taxes in fiscal 2008, but only $12.8 million -- 1.8 percent -- will go toward fighting tobacco use, according to a report from the Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids, the American Heart Association, the American Cancer Society, the Cancer Action Network and the American Lung Association.

A state's standing was calculated by comparing money spent in anti-tobacco programs with the amount of money the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommends. CDC set $35.2 million as a minimum funding level for Massachusetts.

“Massachusetts has made a modest improvement in protecting kids from tobacco, but budget cuts have reduced the effectiveness of what was once one of the nation’s best tobacco prevention programs,” William V. Corr, executive director of the Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids, said in a statement released with the report.

A spokeswoman for the state Department of Public Health said current funding from the state legislature, including an additional $4.5 million for 2008, marks an improvement over the past six years.

"We think we are making progress," Donna Rheaume said. "We're moving in the right direction."

The state's 2008 spending has climbed from the $8.3 million it spent on preventing tobacco use last year, but both years are far below the $48 million Massachusetts spent in 2002, the most of any state that year.

Only three states meet the CDC funding goal: Colorado, Delaware and Maine, which has led the nation since 2003. Taken together, 30 states spend less than half the amount the CDC suggests, the coalition said.

Massachusetts this year restored funding to a successful anti-tobacco television advertising campaign after a six-year hiatus.