This program has demonstrated great success at deterring teens from becoming addicted to tobacco. Florida s pilot program was recently singled out as an example for other states by the Journal of the American Medical Association in the August 2000 issue, which noted that smoking has declined significantly among middle and high school students. A survey of more than 23,000 Florida teens by the Department of Health showed smoking has declined by 40 percent among middle school students and by 18 percent among high school students since the program s inception in 1998. In Fiscal Year 2001-2002, Governor Bush intends to apply the successful tobacco prevention strategies to other forms of harmful substance abuse by linking the Tobacco Pilot Program with the efforts of the Office of Drug Control Policy in the Governor s Office. Yet there is considerable risk that the tobacco settlement proceeds will be drastically reduced or even eliminated in the future.
Litigation continues against the tobacco industry.
This constant stream of lawsuits raises the specter of catastrophic financial losses that could, in turn, prompt bankruptcy filings by the major tobacco companies. Additionally, the lawsuit settlement allows the annual payments to be adjusted for changes in tobacco consumption. Ironically, as consumption declines, so will the payments from the companies that fund our critical health and human services programs. Given these risks, Governor Bush proposes a partial sale of tobacco settlement proceeds. Second, supplementing the securitization proceeds will be a continuation of one-time deposits into the endowment fund.