According to a report recently released by a coalition of public health organizations, states in the U.S. have decreased funding for programs to reduce tobacco use to the lowest level since 1999, when they first received tobacco settlement funds [1].

The coalition includes organizations such as the Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids, American Cancer Society Cancer Action Network, American Heart Association, American Lung Association and Robert Wood Johnson Foundation. Since the November 1998 multi-state tobacco settlement, these organizations have issued annual reports assessing whether states are keeping their promise to use a significant portion of their settlement funds to address the enormous public health problems posed by tobacco use in the United States.