Coalition advocates spending tobacco money on prevention programs

A coaltion of anti-smoking groups as released a poll on how Iowans believe the federal tobacco settlement money should be spent. The Iowa Legislature will decide in January how to spend Iowa’s first 75-million dollar installment of the tobacco settlement payment. The Tobacco Free Iowa project wants just over 20-million of those dollars spent on a comprehensive program to reduce tobacco use. Spokesperson Penny Schramm says the poll shows 88-percent of Iowans say spending the money for the program advocated by Tobacco Free Iowa should be the top or middle priority for the money. The poll showed the second most popular use for the tobacco money would be to fix up Iowa’s crumbling school buildings. Schramm says her group believes the need to seize the opportunity to make a difference.Iowa Attorney General Tom Miller and Governor Vilsack also support using some of the money for tobacco reduction programs.