NEW YORK -- The American Lung Association is criticizing states, including Oklahoma, for using tobacco settlement money to cover budget deficits instead of anti-smoking programs.

A report released Tuesday found that most states spend only a fraction of what federal health officials have recommended on measures like anti-tobacco programs at schools and counseling to help people quit smoking. In many cases, the association found, states have used money from the tobacco settlement to plug budget gaps. The sluggish economy and new anti-terrorism spending have opened huge deficits for many states. In 1998, tobacco companies agreed to pay $206 billion over 25 years to 46 states to settle lawsuits. Four states later settled separately for a total of $40 billion. The association gave 32 states, including Oklahoma, and the District of Columbia a grade of "F" for weak spending on anti-tobacco programs. Only six states earned an "A." "They are raiding tobacco funds to cover budget shortfalls and denying themselves a sound investment in their citizens' health," said John L. Kirkwood, the association's chief executive. The American Lung Association also graded states on their cigarette taxes, their laws to protect people from secondhand smoke and their measujres to stop children from smoking. Oklahoma was one of 10 states that received F's in all four categories. Oklahoma has received $244 million from the 1998 tobacco settlement. A total of $97 million has been put into a trust fund that pays for anti-smoking programs. The rest of the money has gone into the state's general fund. In November 2000, Oklahoma voters passed a measure requiring that 50 percent of tobacco settlement money go to the trust. The measure increases that percentage by 5 percent per year until it eventually reaches 75 percentage. Joan Henneberry, director of health policy for the National Governors Association, said states are under unprecedented fiscal pressure, much of it brought about by skyrocketing Medicaid costs. "States are in such a bad financial position now, if they don't tap into other sources, they're going to have to cut benefits and eligibility in Medicaid," she said. "That doesn't help with anti-smoking efforts either." The report painted a brighter picture of states' use of cigarette taxes. Many states have raised taxes on cigarettes as a way of generating quick money, and the association said the move is discouraging smoking. Eight states more than doubled their tobacco tax in 2002, the report said, and 14 now have a per-pack tax of $1 or more. Massachusetts taxes cigarettes at $1.51 per pack, highest in the nation.

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