Alaskans for Tobacco-Free Kids

14,000 kids alive in Alaska today will die from tobacco addiction and disease if more is not done to prevent them from starting to smoke. Since Alaska joined the Tobacco Settlement in November 1998 approximately 1000 additional Alaskans have died from tobacco-caused disease.

Four prominent health agencies-the American Lung Association of Alaska, the American Cancer Society, the American Heart Association, and the Alaska Native Health Board-have formed an advocacy group known as Alaskans for Tobacco-Free Kids. Our mission is to educate and convince legislators to spend one-third ($8.1 million) of Alaska's Tobacco Settlement money on comprehensive tobacco prevention and cessation programs. This is the minimum recommended expenditure by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention for the state of Alaska. Currently, as the result of intensive lobbying pressure, 20% of Alaska's Tobacco Settlement has been committed by the legislature to fund tobacco prevention and control efforts.

The Tobacco Settlement should be used as intended - to support comprehensive, sustained tobacco prevention efforts at a minimum of $8.1 year.