Don't cut anti-tobacco

Utah's highly effective anti-tobacco effort is not funded by the state's general fund. Rather, it is paid for primarily by the Master Settlement Agreement, a settlement with tobacco companies intended to compensate states for the costs of tobacco addiction. HB444 would take funding away from tobacco prevention and control, effectively gutting the program.

In economically challenged times, Utah cannot afford to misuse tobacco-settlement funds. The crushing financial burden each state must carry to address the very real costs associated with tobacco-related death and disease will only diminish when smoking rates begin to decline. Don't cut a program that works. Utah's fight against the tobacco industry must continue.

Chip Haskell

Salt Lake City