U.S. State and Local Issues

Spending on Tobacco Prevention: North Dakota

Last updated December 05, 2012

Summary: The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) recommends that North Dakota spend $9.3 million a year to have an effective, comprehensive tobacco prevention program.  North Dakota currently allocates $8.2 million a year for tobacco prevention and cessation.  This is 88.4% of the CDC’s recommendation and ranks North Dakota 2nd among the states in the funding of tobacco prevention programs.  North Dakota’s spending on tobacco prevention amounts to 13.7% of the estimated $60 million in tobacco-generated revenue the state collects each year from settlement payments and tobacco taxes.

Background and Recent Developments: North Dakota appropriated $8.2 million of state funds to tobacco prevention and cessation programs in FY2013. When federal funds are added, North Dakota’s tobacco control program is funded at CDC-recommended levels.

North Dakota’s tobacco settlement payments have been governed by a 1999 law that placed 45 percent of the money into a Water Development Trust Fund, 45 percent into a Common Schools Trust Fund and 10 percent into a Community Health Trust Fund. On November 4, 2008, North Dakota voters approved a ballot measure to allocate the tobacco settlement strategic contribution funds to the state's tobacco prevention and cessation program at the CDC-recommended level, which is $9.3 million a year.

In addition, North Dakota is receiving $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).