New York Drops $9 Million Against Teen Smoking

New York State has just announced that it will be granting over $9 million total to organizations that help prevent teen smoking. This is following a flurry in the press last week that reflected that New York was losing its war against tobacco lobbyists.

Gov. Andre Cuomo of New York announced that the state Department of Health's Bureau of Tobacco Control would award funding amounts up to $500,000 to anti-tobacco organizations dedicated to culling teen smoking numbers. The funding amounts will total to $9.4 million, which has already been allocated to the Bureau of Tobacco Control in the current state budget.

Some have speculated that this announcement was tactfully planned after it was revealed last week that big tobacco companies have quadrupled the amount of money they spend on lobbying in New York, spending approximately $3.5 million in the first six months of 2013 alone,according to the New York Public Interest Research Group. Following this revelation, Cuomo received heavy criticism from anti-tobacco groups who had been seeing annual cuts in state funded anti-tobacco campaigns.

But this new announcement may just show tobacco regulation advocates that the governor is in their corner.

The New York state announcement is also extremely timely. The federal government recently announced its own crusade against teen smoking, launching an anti-teen-smoking campaign earlier this month. The campaign, which is costing the Food and Drug Administration $115 million, aims to show underage teens "the real cost" smoking can have on their appearances and health.

Following this trend, CVS Pharmacies have also recently declared their own anti-smoking sentiments, banning the sale of tobacco products in their stores across the country and launching a small campaign dedicated to helping smokers quit the habit.

New York State will be awarding funding to anti-teen-smoking organizations that submit an application by next week.