Editor’s note: This commentary is by John Hughes, MD, of Shelburne, who is the medical director for the Coalition for a Tobacco Free Vermont.
It’s a rare opportunity when we are handed money we weren’t expecting to save lives. And when we are, we should use it to its fullest. The Vermont Legislature allocated an extra $1 million this year to fight tobacco. I hope the Legislature and governor will not change that wise decision during the special legislative session.
A thousand Vermonters die each year from tobacco; i.e. three a day. Half of all smokers die from a tobacco-related illness. Stopping smoking before age 40 completely removes the risks of smoking.
In the master settlement agreement, tobacco companies provide approximately $30 million each year to Vermont. Vermont currently spends $3.5 million on its Tobacco Control Program and $1.9 million of that is from the annual master settlement payments. Over the last 17 years, the tobacco control program has had incredible success. Between 1999 and now, adult smoking rates have dropped from 22 percent to 18 percent and youth smoking rates dropped from 36 percent to 11 percent. We’ve saved more than $1.43 billion in what we otherwise would have spent treating tobacco-related illnesses.
That sounds great. A closer look, however, shows the problem of tobacco is far from solved. Because of the allure of e-cigarettes, 25 percent of Vermont youth are now using some form of tobacco or vaping product. Also, the percent of Vermont adults who are smoking has not changed in several years and lags behind the nation’s rate of 15.5 percent, perhaps because remaining smokers are those with more difficulty quitting.
Vermont could save $229 million if it reduced the current adult smoking rate to its goal of 12 percent. But that requires a greater investment. The Vermont Legislature heard this call and allocated an additional $1 million to the tobacco program from a one-time tobacco settlement payment of $28 million that Vermont will receive this year. This funding is at risk because it is contained within the budget the Legislature passed and governor has threatened to veto. When lawmakers and the governor return shortly for the special legislative session, I hope they will see the value in keeping this wise investment that will save 1,000 Vermonters from an early death.
