2010 Archives – NJ Governor Christie Plans to END State’s Tobacco Control Program

On March 16, 2010 New Jersey Governor Christie announced his state budget for July 1, 2010 – June 30, 2011, which cuts 100% of New Jersey’s Comprehensive Tobacco Control Program (CTCP). For years, NJ CTCP has funded local, county and statewide tobacco control and prevention programs, resulting in New Jersey having one of the lowest smoking rates in the nation for adults. Governor Christie estimates that the state will collect $750 million in cigarette taxes in the coming year, yet none of it is earmarked to fund New Jersey’s CTCP at all, not even at its current level of $7.5 million.

Smoking is the #1 cause of preventable death and disease in our State, Nation and outside our country’s borders. Providing funding for CTCP helps people quit smoking and protects nonsmokers from secondhand smoke, all of which decreases New Jersey’s enormous healthcare and Medicaid costs caused by smoking and secondhand smoke, yet CTCP funding has decreased during the 2000′s.

Click here for New Jersey specific information about the success of the CTCP program, negative impacts of eliminating the program, the importance of a comprehensive program, and potential sources of revenue to fund the program.

Maintaining the NJ CTCP aligns with federal strategic initiatives to prevent and reduce tobacco use. On May 11, 2010, Kathleen Sebelius, Secretary of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, outlined her Department’s Strategic Initiatives, which includes preventing and reducing tobacco use. Click here to read her set of four actions, to accelerate this initiative. Read Secretary Sebelius’s CNN commentary from March 19, 2010 entitled, New tobacco rules good for kids.

1. Click here to contact Governor Christie, the Chairs and Vice-chair of the Senate and Assembly Budget Committees, Senator Sarlo, and Assemblymen Greenwald and Schaer, and your legislator to share your view of why New Jersey needs CTCP funding.
2. Link to American Cancer Society and link to NJ Breathes to sign online petitions to save NJ’s Tobacco Control Program, and share it with colleagues, family and friends who support tobacco control.
3. Click here to read about community events for 2010 World No Tobacco Day (WNTD). GASP was interviewed for a Time For Kids magazine article about WNTD and smoking rates for kids.
4. Click here to read news articles and editorials in support of CTCP funding and review sample letters to help make your position known through media outreach.