Funding Tobacco Prevention is Important...and here's why

Tobacco use is STILL the #1 cause of preventable death and disease in Wisconsin. With tight budget times and the state government looking every which way to see where it can save tax payer dollars, tobacco prevention programs are already engaging in saving millions of dollars and thousands of lives.

Healthcare costs directly attributed to smoking were nearly $2.8 billion in WI in 2007.

However, In states with successful tobacco prevention and control programs, like WI, each dollar invested has saved at least $3.60 in tobacco-caused healthcare costs.

Also, since 2000:

• Middle school smoking has dropped 67%.
• High school smoking has dropped 46%.
• Adult smoking has dropped 21%.
• More than 150,000 calls have been made to the Wisconsin Tobacco Quit Line.
• Tobacco sales to minors have also decreased 83% since 2001.

Instead of debating for hours on end about what programs should be cut, maybe the state legislature should start talking about what programs to invest in...Tobacco Prevention and Control looks like a good place to start.