More than 3,000 youths begin smoking each day. A third of them will die of tobacco related diseases. Under the Specter amendment, the Federal government would waive its right to recoup the federal share of the money states will receive from the state tobacco settlement. The bill would also require that programs target minorities and other high-risk groups. If states don't invest this money to beat their tobacco problem, they will end up hopelessly trapped in the vicious cycle of spending that they've experienced for years.
States spend billions of dollars each year on tobacco-related problems.
They filed suit to recoup some of those costs. The American Heart Association is dedicated to reducing disability and death from heart disease and stroke. Tobacco use causes more than 400,000 deaths each year. Inc. All rights reserved. Unauthorized use prohibited.