NY Ranks Low in Smoking Cessation Funding

ALBANY, N.Y. (AP) — A national coalition of anti-smoking advocates ranks New York 21st among states in funding of smoking cessation programs.

The Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids includes New York among states it says broke promises to use all or most of the money from the historic tobacco company settlement 15 years ago to combat smoking. The group is funded by cancer and anti-smoking charities.

It reported this month that New York spends about $40 million a year on tobacco prevention programs after annual declines during much of the last decade. That spending is about 16 percent of the $254 million in yearly funding recommended for New York by the federal Center for Disease Control and Prevention.