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SIOUX FALLS, S.D. (KELO) — If it becomes law, Senate Bill 54 would decrease the amount of money that goes into South Dakota’s Tobacco Prevention and Reduction Trust Fund. Those who support the change call it a necessary step because of the state’s tight budget. Opponents worry it could impact smoking and vaping rates.
Under the current South Dakota law, the first $30 million of tax revenue from cigarettes and other tobacco products goes to the state general fund. The next $5 million goes into the Tobacco Prevention and Reduction Trust Fund.
Senate Bill 54 would reduce the amount going toward the Tobacco and Prevention Trust Fund to $2 million, allowing an extra $3 million to go into the general fund.
Jim Terwilliger, commissioner of the Bureau of Finance and Management, is a proponent of the bill.
“This is one of the areas where we felt we could still do a really good job of offering tobacco prevention services but also be smarter with how we spend the money and then allocate some of those funds to the general fund, which will help cover some of our increased health care costs that we’re seeing on the general fund side,” Terwilliger said.
Carla Graciano with the American Cancer Society Cancer Action Network opposes the $3 million cut.
“The tobacco companies are spending about $24.9 million per year on marketing for their products in South Dakota,” Graciano said. “We’re only spending $5 million to fund our tobacco prevention and control program, and a $3 million cut is going to be detrimental to reduce smoking rates.”
Terwilliger points to a recent decrease in smoking rates in South Dakota. Graciano says Senate Bill 54 could turn those numbers around.
“That problem has gotten gotten smaller over time. The public’s attitude towards tobacco has changed, so we thought it was an opportunity to reinvest those dollars into other areas,” Terwilliger said.
“If we don’t have the resources to keep programs like the Quit Line, we know that the smoking rates are going to increase, and the smoking deaths are going to also increase,” Graciano said.
SB 54 passed the Senate by a vote of 21-14. Next, it heads to the House.
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