DE Ranked #2 in Tobacco Spending

Summary: The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) recommends that Delaware spend $13.9 million a year to have an effective, comprehensive tobacco prevention program.  Delaware currently receives $11.3 million a year for tobacco prevention and cessation, which includes both state and federal funds.  This is 81.3% of the CDC’s recommendation and ranks Delaware 2nd among the states in the funding of tobacco prevention programs.  Delaware’s spending on tobacco prevention amounts to 7.2% of the estimated $156 million in tobacco-generated revenue the state collects each year from settlement payments and tobacco taxes.

Recent Developments: In July 1999, then-Governor Tom Carper (D) signed into law legislation creating the Delaware Health Fund into which all of the state’s tobacco settlement payments are directed. The law also designated the Fund’s purposes: expand access to healthcare, promote healthy lifestyles, and mitigate the effects of disease. An advisory committee of citizens, health experts and elected officials was formed to make annual recommendations for program expenditures from the Fund. The Legislature must allocate the money within the fund through the state’s annual budget process. 

For FY2009, Delaware is scheduled to spend $11.3 million in federal and state funds for tobacco prevention programs, approximately the same amount that was spent in FY2008.