U.S. State and Local Issues

Spending on Tobacco Prevention: Delaware

Last updated November 29, 2011

Summary: The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) recommends that Delaware spend $13.9 million a year to have an effective, comprehensive tobacco prevention program. Delaware currently allocates $9.0 million a year for tobacco prevention and cessation. This is 64.9% of the CDC’s recommendation and ranks Delaware 4th among the states in the funding of tobacco prevention programs. Delaware’s spending on tobacco prevention amounts to 5.9% of the estimated $153 million in tobacco-generated revenue the state collects each year from settlement payments and tobacco taxes.

Recent Developments: In the past, funding for Delaware’s tobacco prevention programs came from the Delaware Health Fund into which all of the state’s tobacco settlement payments were directed. While funding has stayed fairly level, funds for FY2012 will not come from the Health Fund but instead will be a mix of one- time appropriations and special fund appropriations to the General Fund, making tobacco prevention and cessation funding vulnerable and possibly unstable in the future.

Total state spending on tobacco prevention and cessation for FY2012 will be $9.0 million. This amount represents a small increase from the amount the state reported spending on the tobacco program in FY2011.

Delaware is spending less than the CDC-recommended amount on tobacco prevention despite the fact that the state is receiving more tobacco-generated revenue than ever before as a result of a 45-cent cigarette tax increase enacted in 2009, bringing it to $1.60 a pack.

In addition, Delaware is receiving $904,647 million in federal funds dedicated to tobacco prevention and control:

• $669,374 from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in a 12-month grant for the period beginning April 2011 (from annual appropriations).

• $77,285 from the Prevention and Public Health Fund in the new health care reform law.