The success of Kentucky's tobacco prevention program has led to a 75-percent budget cut, the Sentinel News reported May 5.

The state's Tobacco Prevention and Cessation Program was funded by the 1998 Tobacco Master Settlement Agreement. Kentucky's smoking rates have gone down considerably since the inception of statewide smoking prevention and cessation programs and the passage of a statewide increase of the tobacco tax in June of last year.

The tax on cigarettes rose from three to 30 cents per pack and contributed a 10 to 20 percent decrease in tobacco sales.

"This feels like a big step back," said Gina Jesse, the health education coordinator for the North Central District Health Department; her last smoking-cessation class had a quit rate of 80 percent.

Still, there is some hope on the horizon. Kentucky has the nation's highest rate of women who smoke during pregnancy – 24 percent – and the March of Dimes has agreed to fund a program for education on the ill-effects of such behavior.