PIERRE, S.D. –– The passage of Senate Bill 54 on Wednesday marked a disappointing step backward for public health and cancer prevention in South Dakota as it strips voter-initiated funding for the state’s tobacco prevention and cessation fund by 60%.
Those funds were overwhelmingly approved by voters in 2006 to counter Big Tobacco’s massive annual investment in the state. The funds from the tobacco tax supports education, prevention and cessation, helping stop South Dakotans who are addicted from using the deadly products and keeping kids from ever starting. The program has successfully reduced use, but there is simply no realistic scenario that the work continues as successfully with a significant reduction in funding.
American Cancer Society Cancer Action Network advocates in South Dakota urge Gov. Larry Rhoden to veto this change and keep funds from the tobacco tax in place as is, with the first $30 million going to the general fund and the next $5 million to tobacco prevention and cessation. State teens are particularly at risk as they use highly addictive e-cigarettes at nearly double the national average.
The following statement can be attributed in full or part to ACS CAN South Dakota Government Relations Director Ben Hanson:
“This cut acts as a door wedge for Big Tobacco to enter our middle and high schools. Corporate tobacco invests nearly $25 million annually in South Dakota, so if we take the money out, our youth use numbers will go up. That’s not a guess. That’s just reality. Cutting prevention now will only increase costs while damaging lives in the long run. Balancing the books on our kids’ future health is not the way forward. We urge the governor to veto SB 54.”