NASHVILLE, Tenn.–A new report by the Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids says despite collecting $26.6 billion in settlement money and taxes from tobacco companies, the United States has only spent 1.8% of the money on tobacco use prevention, an amount that equals less than two cents on the dollar spent by states.

Tennessee ranks 45th for the 2017 Fiscal Year spending on prevention, totaling just $1.1 million spent which is just 1.5% of the $75.6 million the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommends to spend. Tennessee ranked 34th for the 2016 Fiscal Year spending on prevention with $5 million spent.

The report states 21.9% of adult Tennesseans smoke and 11.5% of high school students in the state smoke. An estimated 11,400 deaths occur in the state each year due to smoking and 32.9% of cancer deaths in Tennessee are attributable to smoking.

Nationally, the country has seen a record decline in smoking rates, but the report says states could help accelerate these rates by properly funding the tobacco prevention programs.

See the full report: CLICK HERE