Bureau of Tobacco Prevention Program

Bureau of Tobacco Prevention Program
Florida's involvement in tobacco prevention efforts dates back to 1989 when the Department of Health and Rehabilitative Services began receiving federal funding to implement tobacco prevention and control activities. In 1997, Florida successfully settled with the tobacco industry for $11.3 billion to recoup Medicaid costs incurred by smokers. As part of the settlement agreement, Florida launched the Tobacco Pilot Program targeting tobacco use among underage youth. Five years later, the funding for the tobacco program was cut to $1 million. This required the program to discontinue several key components of its youth tobacco program such as school-based tobacco education, youth development, and counter-marketing efforts, otherwise known as the "truth" campaign.

As the result of a 2006 ballot initiative, Florida voters passed a constitutional amendment that allocates 15% of tobacco trust fund interest payments to fund a comprehensive, statewide tobacco education and prevention program, with one-third of total annual funding being used for educational and counter-marketing mass media. Florida State Constitution s.27, Art. X, requires that the tobacco program conform to the 1999 Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's (CDC) Best Practices for Comprehensive Tobacco Control Programs, as revised, to protect people, especially youth, from the health hazards of tobacco.

The Florida Department of Health's (DOH) Bureau of Tobacco Prevention Program currently operates with a total of $60 million in funding allocated from two sources: state funds ($59.3 million) and the CDC ($705,000). Ten million of the $59.3 million has been allocated to the Area Health Education Centers (AHECs) Network to expand smoking cessation initiatives to every county in the state.
The 2007 Florida Legislature passed legislation to implement the constitutional amendment. Section 381.84, Florida Statutes, authorizes DOH to create a statewide comprehensive tobacco prevention and control program consistent with the CDC's Best Practices for Comprehensive Tobacco Control Programs. In addition, the statute requires DOH to work with a 23-member advisory council to advise the State Surgeon General as to the direction and the scope of the tobacco program; adopt rules for the program; award funding to AHECs for cessation and training; and provide an annual report that evaluates the program effectiveness in reducing and preventing tobacco use and recommends improvements to enhance the program's effectiveness.

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