U.S. State and Local Issues

Spending on Tobacco Prevention: Missouri

Last updated December 05, 2012

  FY2013 FY2012
State Rank 46 45
State Spending on Tobacco Prevention $60,000 $60,000
% of CDC Recommended Spending
($73.2 )		 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 $61,785 a year for tobacco prevention and cessation.  This is 0.1% of the CDC’s recommendation and ranks Missouri 46th among the states in the funding of tobacco prevention programs.  Missouri’s spending on tobacco prevention amounts to 0.025% of the estimated $242 million in tobacco-generated revenue the state collects each year from settlement payments and tobacco taxes.

Background and Recent Developments: Missouri is once again spending merely $61,785 in state funds on tobacco prevention in FY2013. 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 per 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. In 2012, Missouri voters narrowly rejected another ballot initiative to increase the cigarette tax, this time by 73 cents per pack. 20 percent of the revenue raised would have been allocated to tobacco prevention and cessation programs. Instead, Missouri’s cigarette tax remains at 17 cents per pack, which is significantly lower than the $1.48 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 $2.3 million in federal funds dedicated to tobacco prevention and control:

  • $1.2 million from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in a 12-month grant for the period beginning April 2012 (from annual appropriations).

  • $503,513 from the Prevention and Public Health Fund in the new health care reform law for the period beginning August 1, 2012. 

  • $614,828 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.