When Stacy McCole gets a phone call from someone looking for help with quitting smoking, the resources she now has available are limited.
The recent passage of the state budget has left some programs with less funding than they’ve had in previous years or no funding at all.
The Healthy Communities Partnership of Greater Franklin County has had to eliminate its classes to help people with their efforts to quit smoking. Grant Coordinator McCole said she had to tell about 10 people that an eight-week class that was to start in a couple of weeks was being canceled, and to turn away a handful of people looking for help in kicking the habit.
We had classes scheduled, but they’re all gone now,” she said.
Last year the organization conducted about 10 classes that were completed by about 60 people.
Last year, the Healthy Communities Partnership received $160,000 to administer cessation classes and prevention programs, such as going to area schools and speaking to students about the dangers of smoking. The Partnership also provided kits during the Great American Smokeout, which will be Nov. 19, that included literature, candies and other tools to help people break the habit.
McCole said literature will still be available, but not the kits. This year, Franklin County will not receive any funding, nor will some programs in other parts of the state.
Olivia Susskind, director of public affairs for the Family Health Council of CentralPennsylvania, which contracts with the Healthy Communities Partnership, said the funding made available for the current budget is supposed to focus on programs that concentrate solely on cessation. McCole said cessation programs made up about 35 percent of what the partnership did, with the rest going to prevention.
“It was a very difficult decision for my organization to decide which programs can and can not be funded,” Susskind said.
Funding for the programs was made available by lawsuit settlements with tobacco manufacturers. Last year, the state’s Department of Health allocated $32 million, or about 9 percent of the funding made available by the lawsuit, to agencies and organizations for prevention and cessation programs. This year, $17.3 million, or about 4.5 percent, will be distributed, with the remaining funds being used toward balancing the budget.
The American Lung Association denounced the cuts, stating that tobacco use costs the state about $5.1 billion in health care and lost productivity.
State Rep. Rob Kauffman, R-Chambersburg, said the reduction in funding is the latest in a series of cuts occurring for about five years. When the funding program started in 2001, about $47 million was made available to smoking programs across the state.
However, Kauffman said about a third of that was cut for other programs. He said the formula used for this year’s budget is also in place for next year’s budget, with $150 million of the state’s tobacco money being used for other programs this fiscal year and $250 million expected to be reallocated for the next fiscal year.
It was also frustrating to McCole and Kauffman that Pennsylvania remains the only state where smokeless tobacco is not taxed, while cigarettes saw an increase of 25 cents a pack.
McCole said smokeless tobacco, with its cheaper price, more attractive packaging and flavors might pose more of a risk to younger adults than cigarettes.
“Because it is less expensive, it’s the gateway to use for teenagers,” she said.
McCole said the organization still has resources to offer to smokers looking to quit, such as information packets and classes that are still being offered in neighboring Adams and Cumberland counties. The partnership is also referring people to the state’s quit-smoking hot line, but said that not everyone benefits from the phone line.
McCole said the most frustrating part of the financial cuts is not being able to assist people who are looking for help to better their health. McCole said that she comes from a family of smokers and that if a relative of hers were to come to her now looking for a class to help them quit, she doesn’t have any to offer. “To turn them away is heart-breaking,” she said.