HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES COMMITTEE

USE OF REVENUES GENERATED BY TOBACCO SETTLEMENT FOR YOUTH SMOKING PREVENTION

WHEREAS, an estimated one in eight middle school students and one-third high school students reported using some form of tobacco in the past month; and

WHEREAS, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, more than 6,000 persons under the age of 18 years try their first cigarette each day; and

WHEREAS, more than 3,000 persons under the age of 18 years become daily smokers every day; and

WHEREAS, seventy percent of adolescent smokers wish they had never started smoking in the first place; and

WHEREAS, experts agree that any successful effort to reduce tobacco use among adolescents must include a comprehensive approach; and

WHEREAS, recent studies indicate that state smoking prevention programs are having an impact, that more tobacco control correlates with less tobacco use, and that the smoking reductions coincided with the intensification of tobacco control efforts; and

WHEREAS, states currently have an unprecedented opportunity to advance youth smoking prevention efforts substantially as a result of recent tobacco settlements with the major U.S. tobacco companies,

NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED that The United States Conference of Mayors encourages states to set aside a meaningful portion of their tobacco settlement funds to design and implement comprehensive statewide youth smoking prevention programs including mass media campaigns, school-based tobacco use prevention programs, community-based programs that promote positive youth development and enhanced access prevention and enforcement efforts.