Court orders California governor to restore antismoking media campaign funding

Article Abstract:

A California judge has ordered Governor Pete Wilson to reinstate funding for an acclaimed anti-smoking campaign that has helped hundreds of thousands of Californians to quit smoking. The funding came from a cigarette sales tax mandated by Proposition 99, which was passed by a majority of California voters in 1988. The tobacco industry lobbied against the proposition, and when it passed, the industry contributed money to the Republican Party of California and to Governor Wilson's inauguration. The industry succeeded in getting a bill passed that would divert money from the campaign to health care programs for the poor. The governor and the director of the Department of Health Services justify the cuts based on the state's budget deficit, but the American Lung Association of California, which brought the suit, said the governor is violating the state's constitution, which forbids the modification of voter-approved initiatives.

Cases, Expenditures, Public, Public expenditures, Wilson, Pete

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Judge rules diversion of antismoking money illegal, victory for California Tobacco Control Program

Article Abstract:

A California Superior Court judge has ruled that it is illegal to divert the tobacco tax revenues collected under California's Proposition (Prop) 99 and that the funding for tobacco education and research must be restored. Californians passed Prop 99 in 1988, which increased the state's tobacco tax by 25%. Five percent of the resulting revenue was earmarked for tobacco research and 20% for antismoking education campaigns. Governor Pete Wilson and the California state legislature disregarded this public mandate by diverting money away from tobacco research and education to help fund medical care for the poor. On January 23, 1995, antismoking organizations prevailed in their lawsuit to block the diversion of funds. This legal decision will fortify California's already successful Tobacco Control Program. Between 1989 and 1993, the state smoking rate dropped 28% and $211 million in health care costs have been saved.

Taxation, Laws, regulations and rules, Political aspects, California, Smoking cessation programs, Smoking cessation, Cigarettes

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American Heart Association seeks to delay state health department director's confirmation

Article Abstract:

The American Heart Association of California wants to delay the confirmation of Molly J. Coye as the director of the state's Department of Health Services until funding for the state's widely acclaimed antismoking campaign is restored. The funds were cut allegedly because of the state's budget crisis, but according to a researcher with the Institute for Health Policy Studies, the tobacco industry spent $2.7 million in California elections in 1991 to undermine the proposition that funds the campaign. Shortly after a judge ordered the department to reinstate the funds, the department cancelled funding for the American Lung Association of California, which brought the suit. The association, state senate offices and the editors of JAMA have received reports that the department is harassing scientists who speak against the department's budget cuts.

Officials and employees, Appointments, resignations and dismissals, American Heart Association, Coye, Molly J., California. Department of Health Services

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