South Carolina to spend NO money on tobacco prevention..

November 19, 2008 - As pointed out in a July 5, 2008 news brief South Carolina (SC) will NOT devote any resources to anti-smoking programs.. South Carolina (SC) will collect $114 million this year from the tobacco settlement and taxes, but it is the only state that doesn't plan to spend any state money to help people quit smoking and prevent others from taking up the habit.

In South Carolina, a $1 million grant from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention will pay for a scaled-back 800-number quit line and some education in the schools, state officials said.


Matthew Myers, president of Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids, said in a release, "South Carolina is the most disappointing state in the nation when it comes to funding programs to protect kids from tobacco."

But there is good news. Since 1999, the youth smoking rate in South Carolina, an historically tobacco-friendly state, has dropped by half, from 36 percent to 18 percent. For the 22 percent of South Carolina's adults who already smoke, the state has continued its tobacco quit line with the federal money, though it has scaled back its follow-up counseling sessions.

More information: A Decade of Broken Promises The 1998 State Tobacco Settlement Ten Years Later.

Reference: SC ranks last in tobacco prevention spending, Portfolio.com - Associated Press, 11/18/2008.

Additional related news briefs: In 2008 will the politicians do what's right for the State of South Carolina??; South Carolina - Tobacco Tax Increase Killed - State House Fails to Override Governor's Veto.. and Tobacco Tax Increase – What’s Wrong with South Carolina??.