Georgia Gov. Sonny Perdue cited health benefits when he raised Georgia's tobacco tax in 2003, but he also has cut spending on the state's tobacco prevention programs, the Associated Press reported Feb. 3.

In addition to the 25-cent-per-pack tobacco tax increase, Georgia collects more than $163 million annually from its share of the nationwide tobacco settlement. But the state spends just $2.2 million per year on smoking prevention, far short of the $42 million recommended by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

In a recent ranking of state tobacco-control efforts by the Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids, Georgia placed 44th in the nation. In fiscal year 2002, under former Gov. Roy Barnes, the state was spending $24.7 million on smoking prevention; funding was cut to $19 million in 2003. It then fell to $12.5 million under Perdue by 2005, and in 2006 the governor slashed funding to about $3 million, directing money away from prevention and towards cancer research and treatment and rural economic development.