Governor Wants to Redirect State Tobacco Settlement Funds

Governor Haley Barbour wants to use the $20 million usually earmarked for an anti-smoking group that has been bankrolled by tobacco lawsuit winnings and route the money to areas more indirectly related to smoking cessation. The governor proposed his “Healthy Kids” initiative February 16 and said he wants to direct the money into four areas: $5 million to expand cancer research, treatment and screening; $5 million to the Mississippi Bureau of Narcotics to fight drugs; $5 million for an anti-smoking education and ad campaign; and $5 million to expand the school nurse program to all school districts. The Partnership for a Healthy Mississippi, the group that receives the $20 million annually, has been criticized by the governor for a lack of accountability. (Jackson Clarion-Ledger, February 17, 2006) (HMF/2/27/06)