U.S. State and Local Issues

Spending on Tobacco Prevention: Missouri

Last updated November 29, 2011

  FY2012 FY2011
State Rank 45 48
State Spending on Tobacco Prevention $60,000 $60,000
% of CDC Recommended Spending
($73.2 million)		 0.1% 0.1%

Summary: The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) recommends that Missouri spend $73.2 million a year to have an effective, comprehensive tobacco prevention program. Missouri currently allocates $60,000 a year for tobacco prevention and cessation. This is 0.1% of the CDC’s recommendation and ranks Missouri 45th among the states in the funding of tobacco prevention programs. Missouri’s spending on tobacco prevention amounts to 0.0% of the estimated $244 million in tobacco-generated revenue the state collects each year from settlement payments and tobacco taxes.

Recent Developments: Missouri is once again spending just under $60,000 in state funds on tobacco prevention in FY2012. This is just one-tenth of the CDC-recommended spending for the state which is not nearly enough to pursue a comprehensive prevention and cessation program. From FY2003 through FY2007, the legislature dedicated no funding for tobacco prevention. In 2006, Missouri voters narrowly rejected a ballot initiative to increase the state cigarette tax by 80 cents a pack and double the tax on other tobacco products. The initiative would have given Missouri one of the best-funded prevention programs in the country. Instead, Missouri’s cigarette tax remains at 17 cents per pack, which is significantly lower than the $1.46 per pack average across the United States. Missouri remains among the bottom states in funding tobacco prevention and cessation programs.

In addition, Missouri is receiving $1.9 million in federal funds dedicated to tobacco prevention and control:

  • $1.1 million from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in a 12-month grant for the period beginning April 2011 (from annual appropriations).

  • $114,477 from the Prevention and Public Health Fund in the new health care reform law.

  • $615,374 from the Food and Drug Administration for enforcement of the Family Smoking Prevention and Tobacco Control Act, including the provision regarding tobacco sales to minors.