Montgomery County, which has aggressively tried to curb tobacco use, is looking at cutting much of its anti-smoking education and outreach campaigns because of huge reductions in state aid.
Much of the cuts would be in education programs designed to discourage the use of tobacco, including school programs.
The county is proposing cutting or reducing five county jobs related to tobacco prevention and slashing the number of residents it will educate on the hazards of smoking from 11,000 to 200, according to county records.
The county also is considering cutting much of its anti-smoking efforts in public schools, including a school-based tobacco specialist.
The proposed cuts must be approved by the state.
County Councilwoman Duchy Trachtenberg, D-at large, said teenage anti-smoking efforts needed to be a priority because underage nicotine use could be a gateway to using other substances.
“Why would we not try to nip it in the bud?” said Trachtenberg, who was a clinical social worker with a specialty in adolescent addiction prior to running for office. “Once again, we don’t put the focus on prevention.”
The state cut $779,000 from a tobacco prevention grant for the next fiscal year, a 74 percent decrease over the current fiscal year.
County Health Officer Dr. Ulder Tillman said the county would still be able to offer some cessation programs to smokers who were trying to quit, and it would continue its enforcement efforts and checks of local merchants who sold tobacco products.
In response to the state cuts, local lawmakers added $45,000 in county funds to keep some anti-smoking programs aimed at at-risk youth and young mothers.
The county banned smoking in restaurants in October 2003, the first in the region to do so. And in 2001, the County Council passed a bill, which was quickly overturned, that would have made it possible for residents to be fined for smoking in their own homes.
Maryland officials estimate $2.2 billion is spent a year in the state to treat smoking-related cancers and diseases. About 6,800 people die prematurely each year from smoking, according to the state.
Smoking by Maryland’s underage youth has dropped in the years from 2000 to 2006, according to state data. But those declines could be short-lived if whole groups of adolescents aren’t exposed to anti-smoking messages, Tillman said.
“They easily can fall into those behaviors that will be difficult to break later on,” she said.
