If I frittered my family's income away like the state does, the state would be forced to support my family. I don't see why the monies from tobacco are not used strictly for the education and prevention of this drug. Once the prevention programs are well-funded we could fund other programs for drug and alcohol prevention. Dumping it into some General Fund only tempts the spendthrifts to flush it away on more garbage that does not benefit the residents as a whole. Let's fight to have more say in where this found money is spent.
Smaller government means more benefits to all.
Tobacco use causes lung and many other cancers, heart and lung disease, birth complications, childhood respiratory diseases, etc., etc. Lung cancer rates among Alaska Natives are among the highest in the world. Tobacco kills one out of five Alaskans, with Alaska Natives bearing an even larger burden of tobacco-caused disease and death. Recent data indicate we are ranked No. 2 in the nation in smoking rates among women. Alaska can do better than that.