Tobacco prevention program on chopping block

Lawmakers will hold a hearing today on whether to move forward with a budget proposal from former Gov. Jack Dalrymple to cut a tobacco prevention program.

North Dakota Center for Tobacco Prevention and Control Policy, or BreatheND, is a small, state agency created in 2008 after voters approved a measure to use a percentage of the state’s tobacco settlement fund for a comprehensive tobacco prevention program.

BreatheND uses more than 20 percent of the tobacco settlement — an agreement states reached with big tobacco companies in 1998 — for a prevention program. Now, the center is on the verge of being eliminated.

“BreatheND is under attack. We’re here today because of that," said Executive Director Jeanne Prom, who held a press conference Tuesday in the atrium of the judicial wing inside the state Capitol.

The center touts cutting youth smoking rates in half since 2008 — from 22.4 percent to 11.7 percent in 2015. Likewise, adult smoking rates have fallen from 21.9 percent in 2011 to 18.7 percent in 2015.

In his final budget address in early December, Dalrymple recommended to do away with the agency and return tobacco prevention and cessation programs to the state Dakota Department of Health. This move caught Prom by surprise.

“It makes no sense to change course when we’re on a successful path," said Prom, adding she hopes the center can continue to bring youth smoking rates down to the low single-digits.

BreatheND works with local public health units to reduce tobacco use, with about 83 percent of its budget going out in grants and contracts, Prom said.

On Tuesday, several health professionals and community members advocated to fully fund the prevention agency.

“It does not make sense to eliminate a successful program like this," said John Warford, a Bismarck orthodontist who is on the agency's board of directors.

Warford also served as Bismarck mayor from 2002 to 2014 and worked with BreatheND to develop a smoke-free ordinance that included bars in the city.

Sommer Wilmeth, a senior at Century High School and member of the school's Students Against Destructive Decisions, spoke about the need for continued tobacco awareness and prevention efforts through BreatheND, primarily to combat the increasing use of e-cigarettes among teens.

"When walking from my car to school in the morning before class, I can say on an average day I see five to 10 classmates vaping in their cars," Wilmeth said.

Prom said, while the she acknowledges that the state is in a "different general fund situation," the center can help save the state money through reduced tobacco use.

However, some lawmakers claim the center is duplicative of the state Health Department's tobacco prevention efforts, a claim Prom disputes, stating the agency works closely with the Health Department and other agencies to make sure there's no overlap.

“It’s been no secret that we thought there was too much duplication on that from a legislative perspective," said House Majority Leader Al Carlson, R-Fargo. “We’re not going to stop (tobacco cessation and prevention), it’s just a matter of looking at whether we can move it back to the health department or what the best way to handle it is.”

The proposal to defund BreatheND will be heard at 1:30 p.m. today at a Senate Appropriations Committee meeting at the state Capitol.

"The Health Department, I think, is the proper agency to perform the duties because they were doing tobacco prevention before this (center) came forth," said Sen. Ray Holmberg, R-Grand Forks, chairman of Senate Appropriations Committee.

In 2008, Holmberg said the purpose of creating BreatheND was to "spend the money they got, but they’ve been banking it for years so they could continue with their jobs."

(Reach Blair Emerson at 701-250-8251 or Blair.Emerson@bismarcktribune.com)

Resource :  http://bismarcktribune.com/news/local/health/tobacco-prevention-program-on-chopping-block/article_2be43b93-6058-5933-89c6-feb6e5dc843c.html