State Tobacco Control Program Spending — United States, 2011

For this analysis, our researchers obtained reports of state tobacco control programs’ expenditures for fiscal year 2011 for all 50 states and DC. In addition to total tobacco control expenditures, expenditure data were collected for the five program components outlined in the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) Best Practices report (2007): 1) state and community interventions; 2) health communication interventions; 3) cessation interventions; 4) surveillance and evaluation; and 5) administration and management. Expenditures for the United States and for each state were calculated by program component, as overall, per capita, and percentage of recommended funding levels in Best Practices (2007).

We found that in fiscal year 2011, for tobacco prevention and control activities, all 50 states and the District of Columbia combined spent $658 million ($2.11 per capita). The total spent was 17.8% of CDC’s recommended amount. State investments in tobacco prevention and control programs in fiscal year 2011 were considerably less than levels recommended in CDC’s Best Practices. Full implementation of comprehensive tobacco control policies and evidence-based interventions at CDC-recommended funding levels could result in a substantial reduction in tobacco-related morbidity and mortality and billions of dollars in savings from averted medical costs and lost productivity in the United States.

Read the full article here via CDC's Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report.  For an overview of the methods and processes used to compile the State Tobacco Control Expenditure Database (STCED) and detailed state-by-state expenditure data, see the companion methodology report.