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McCallum hopes tobacco control boards will rescue Wisconsin from its economic slow down
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Wednesday, November 14, 2001
A statewide budget cut will slash Wisconsin’s anti-tobacco campaign in half despite an increasing percentage of smokers in the state.
Currently, nearly one quarter of Wisconsin residents are smokers, higher than the national average of 22 percent.
Youth smoking is five percent higher than the national average as well.
But because of budget cuts, the Wisconsin Tobacco Control Board, overseer of the statewide anti-smoking campaign with a budget of over $18 million, has been forced to make cuts in all but two of its programs.
Tobacco Control Board executive director David Gundersen said that cutting this funding is a serious mistake.
Gundersen said 7,800 people die each year in Wisconsin from tobacco-related diseases, which leaves the state spending $197 million a year on Medicare for tobacco-related illnesses and $1.4 billion to treat tobacco-related diseases.
“We have a problem here in Wisconsin,” Gundersen said. “Here we have a short-term budget solution that is a trade for long-term health care.”
The board cut 60 percent of its funding for their media campaign, which includes advertising.
“Obviously, big tobacco companies advertise for a reason,” Gundersen said. “We are advertising so people are aware of the effects of tobacco, to get local policy change and to encourage people to quit.”
There has been a drastic increase in the number of 18-to-24-year-olds in Wisconsin who smoke, Gunderson said.
Between 1994 and 1999, the number of 18-to-24-year-olds who smoke increased from 24 to 36 percent.
“Tobacco companies are targeting this market because it is growth market,” Gundersen said. “They are spending $100 million in advertising in Wisconsin. Given our problem, it is baffling that we are cutting the budget.”
Other programs funded by the board facing budget cuts include a hotline for people who want to quit smoking, community coalitions and school grants.
“In Wisconsin one in six pregnant women smoke,” Gundersen said. “We had to cut that program by 25 percent.”
Gundersen said these cuts are detrimental to their cause.
“[It’s] terrible because there were great programs,” he said. “We are very worried.”
Al Hannah, program and policy director for the board, said he is also worried about effects of budget cuts on the program.
“The Centers for Disease Control has looked at states with effective anti-tobacco campaign and set a standard for the amount of funding needed for a coordinated campaign,” Hannah said. “We are below that number.”
Debbie Monterrey-Millett, spokesman for Gov. Scott McCallum, said all state agencies were asked to make a five percent budget cut.
“Basically, with the economic slowdown we are trying to live within some spending caps,” Monterrey-Millet said. “The Tobacco Control Board is just [facing] what every other state agency is doing.” Monterrey-Millet said despite next year’s budget cut, the board would receive $25 million in 2003. “It would certainly be nice if we had the money for all programs,” she said. “It is certainly not something we prefer, but we all have to make some sacrifices next year.”
