DesMoines Register.com, Estdos Unidos, 8 de agosto de 2011

How does budget cut get us healthiest state goal?

Gov. Terry Branstad has stated several times that it is his goal to make Iowa the healthiest state in the Union. It is hard to imagine how he proposes to do that when the Iowa Division of Tobacco Use Prevention and Control's budget takes a 67 percent cut.

Tobacco use is the leading cause of preventable death. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommends Iowa spend over $36 million per year to address this epidemic. However, Iowa has been doing nationally recognized work with as little as $7.8 million.

Now, the tobacco control division was cut to a devastating level of $2.8 million. We know what works to reduce tobacco use: consistently raise the cost of tobacco, increase smoke free environments and implement a comprehensive tobacco control program.

It is impossible to have a truly comprehensive tobacco control program with $2.8 million. Certain elected officials are ignoring the proven effectiveness of these programs.

Since these programs started in the early 2000s, adult and youth smoking rates have dropped dramatically. The programs work. The programs save the state millions. If the state invested in the CDC recommendations, it’s likely the state could save billions.

— Eileen Fisher, Solon

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http://www.desmoinesregister.com/article/20110810/OPINION04/308100043/-1/GALLERY_ARRAY/How-does-budget-cut-get-us-healthiest-state-goal-