State-funded tobacco control programs have effectively trimmed smoking rates, and the best results have been seen in the states that spent the most on smoking prevention, according to a study from the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).

Reuters reported Jan. 29 that researchers who compared state tobacco-control spending and smoking rates between 1995 and 2003 found that adult smoking rates were directly tied to per-capita prevention spending. "The greater the investment, the larger the effect," said Terry Pechacek of the CDC's Office of Smoking and Health.

State spending on smoking prevention has risen since the 1998 settlement between states and the tobacco settlement, but only three states are funding prevention at levels recommended by CDC based on their share of the multibillion-dollar settlement. The CDC estimated that there would be between 2.2 million and 7.1 million fewer smokers in the U.S. if states had met recommended funding levels during the study period.

The study was published in the February 2008 issue of the American Journal of Public Health.