(Pierre, SD) — Tobacco use prevention funding in South Dakota could be taking a 60-percent hit. The three-million-dollar cut in tobacco use prevention money is included in Governor Noem’s proposed budget for next year. This line item currently receives five-million dollars from a 2006 voter-approved tax on each pack of cigarettes. A three-million-dollar cut would come as newer nicotine products, such as pouches, are gaining popularity. Prevention advocates say their top priority now is working with state lawmakers, including expected new South Dakota governor, Larry Rhoden, to keep the cut from happening. Ben Hanson, the government relations director of North and South Dakota for the American Cancer Society Cancer Action Network, says overall use of e-cigarettes by South Dakota youth is more than double the national average.
