Letter to Chris Christie, Governor, State of New Jersey - Tobacco Sales

Letter

Dear Governor Christie:

I am writing out of concern that yet again, the state of New Jersey will not invest available funding in the Comprehensive Tobacco Control Program. In 2014, I wrote to your office regarding your decision to cut all funding for the program, especially as New Jersey ranked last that year among states in funding tobacco prevention activities. Unfortunately, despite being outspoken in your distaste for smoking and its toll on public health, you have continued to spend no state funds on the program.

Though in recent years, fewer youths are smoking cigarettes, greater numbers are taking up e-cigarettes and other forms of tobacco. I have worked in Congress to grant FDA greater authority to regulate these devices and worked to keep smokeless tobacco off of baseball fields because the fact is, though the nature of tobacco use has changed, it remains one of the single biggest threats to public health.

What makes this all the more frustrating is that tobacco prevention programs work and New Jersey has substantial funding sources that can be used. Your predecessor, Governor Corzine recognized this and invested significant state resources in the program, drawing funding from the state's excise tax on tobacco sales and yearly payments made to the state through the 1998 Master Settlement Agreement (MSA) with the major tobacco manufacturers.

This year, New Jersey will collect over $700 million in tobacco sales taxes and will receive over $224 million from the tobacco manufacturers through the MSA. These revenue streams exist because we all know that tobacco use is damaging to one's health and this not only takes a toll on individuals, but also on public health programs like Medicaid.

Without investing in proven tobacco prevention strategies, with the revenue streams specifically created for this purpose, New Jersey residents will needlessly suffer. Smoking causes a range of fatal conditions, and in New Jersey, 11,800 people will die this year from its effects. But, as the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention show, for every person who dies, another 30 will continue to live while enduring the impacts of serious chronic conditions like diabetes, emphysema, and heart disease.

With health and financial impacts as serious as these, it is critical that New Jersey residents, and especially our youths, are fully aware of the consequences of tobacco use. We must prevent potential tobacco users from taking up the habit and must do more to connect those who have with proven cessation programs.

I urge you to reconsider your approach to this serious public health issue, and use tobacco-related revenue streams as they were intended. I urge you to make the investments necessary to ensure a healthy future for our state.

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