Summary: The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) recommends that South Dakota spend $11.3 million a year to have an effective, comprehensive tobacco prevention program.  South Dakota currently receives $5.8 million a year for tobacco prevention and cessation, which includes both state and federal funds.  This is 51.3% of the CDC's recommendation and ranks South Dakota 8th among the states in the funding of tobacco prevention programs.  South Dakota's spending on tobacco prevention amounts to 6.6% of the estimated $88 million in tobacco-generated revenue the state collects each year from settlement payments and tobacco taxes.

Recent Developments: The FY2009 budget passed by the Legislature and signed by Governor M. Michael Rounds (R) appropriated $5 million to the state's tobacco prevention program. The recent increase in tobacco prevention funding is due to the approval of a November 2006 ballot initiative that increased the state cigarette tax by $1 per pack and increased the tax on other tobacco products by 35 percent of the wholesale price. This measure is expected to provide approximately $5 million dollars each year for tobacco prevention and cessation.