Tobacco Control and Prevention

Did You Know - MT Tobacco Facts

Impact of Tobacco in Montana: The Need to Invest in Tobacco Control to Reduce Taxpayer Costs, Protect Kids, and Save Lives

If nothing is done to reduce smoking rates, 19,000 Montana kids currently under 18 will ultimately die prematurely from smoking.  Montana can and must do better.

Economic Costs of Tobacco to Montana

Smoking is estimated to cost Montana $511 million in direct health care costs, including $87.2 million in Medicaid costs annually. These amounts do not include health costs caused by exposure to secondhand smoke, smoking-caused fires, smokeless tobacco use, or cigar and pipe smoking.  Additionally, smoking costs the state $898.6 million in productivity costs annually. Tobacco use also imposes additional costs such as workplace productivity losses and damage to property. These costs far outpace the $101 million in annual tobacco revenue the state receives from tobacco settlement payments and tobacco taxes.  On average Montana residents pay $850 per household in state and federal taxes from smoking-caused government expenditures, whether they smoke or not. It is vital that fact-based programs are in place to reduce tobacco use and reduce taxpayer-funded health care costs. 

Investment in Montana’s Youth

Montana receives over $101 million in tobacco revenue annually from tobacco settlement payments and taxes combined, yet currently invests only $4.9 million in tobacco prevention and cessation programs, which is only 33.2% of the $14.6 million the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommends that Montana spend to combat the health and economic consequences of tobacco. Increasing funding to $10.24 million is a vital first step to protect our Montana youth from tobacco. 

Countering Tobacco Industry Marketing

A well-funded fact-based tobacco control program is needed to counteract the $30.8 million per year that tobacco companies are spending to market their deadly and addictive products in Montana. Increased funding is needed to negate the influence Big Tobacco’s marketing has on youth.  As Big Tobacco has been working hard to addict future generations with e-cigarettes and other tobacco products, the need for funding for tobacco prevention programs has never been greater.

Recommendation

Increasing funding for the Montana Tobacco Use Prevention Program to $10.24 million annually is crucial to prevent kids from starting to use tobacco and help people already addicted to tobacco quit.  According to projections from the Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids, this increase would decrease youth smoking rates by 5.6%, prevent 1,000 kids from growing up to be adults who smoke, and save the state $16.0 million in future health care expenditures.  ACS CAN urges the Montana legislature to increase funding for its vital tobacco prevention and cessation program to $10.24 million annually to reduce taxpayer costs, protect kids, and save lives.