5/14/09: Do not cut state funding of NJ's Tobacco Control Program

Click here to read the May 8, 2009 front page Star Ledger article on why New Jersey needs to fund cessation centers, quoting GASP President Fred. M. Jacobs, MD, JD.

Click here to read the May 5, 2009 Star Ledger Op-Ed, by GASP President Fred M. Jacobs, MD, JD. It details why New Jersey should not cut funding for the state's Comprehensive Tobacco Control Program, and the need for increased smoking cessation services due to new federal tobacco tax increases and other economic and health factors.

Click here to read the April 27, 2009 Harvard School of Public Health press release, on their recent study which found that:

Click here to read the complete Harvard study.

Click here to read the May 14, 2009 LIST mailing sent to inform legislators on the key points of the above articles and publications.

Click here to read the March 25, 2009 Star Ledger article, quoting GASP President Fred M. Jacobs, MD, JD, on the concern with proposed New Jersey budget cuts to the State's Comprehensive Tobacco Control Program.

PLEASE TAKE ACTION: Contact state leadership ASAP!

New Jersey Governor Corzine's preliminary budget, released in January 2009, proposes a budget cut to NJ's state-funded Comprehensive Tobacco Control Program (CTCP). CTCP's budget has been decimated by more than 70% since its inception (original funding was $30 million), resulting in drastic reductions in CTCP functions and services. Last year, the budget cut CTCP's funding by $2.4 million, reducing CTCP's budget from $11 million to $8.6 million. The Centers for Disease Control recommends $119 million/year in funding for NJ's CTCP. CTCP save lives. It is operating on less than a shoe-string budget. Any further budget cuts to CTCP will result in less programs and services to help those in need.

Contact Governor Jon Corzine, the Chairs of the Senate and Assembly Budget Committees, Senator Barbara Buono and Assemblyman Louis Greenwald, and the legislative leadership in the Senate and Assembly, that the CTCP budget should not be cut, but rather restored to $11 million. Click here for a sample letter that you can email or mail. Please cc info@njgasp.org if you send an email. Their contact information:

When calling or writing to the Governor and Legislators, please request:

Last update: 4/11/11