36 PERCENT OF STATE'S POOREST USE TOBACCO
More than 36 percent of low-income Vermonters smoke cigarettes,
according to statistics by the Coalition for a Tobacco Free
Vermont, a group of anti-smoking organizations sponsored by the
American Cancer Society.
The rate is even higher ¡Ö 40 percent ¡Ö among those receiving
mental health services. And more than one-third of uninsured
Vermonters smoke.
There is a personal and financial price that tracks with
Vermont's smoking statistics, the group said.
Citing the Centers for Disease Control figures . . .
Armed with those statistics, the group is lobbying lawmakers in
Montpelier for an additional $3.3 million ¡Ö on top of the $5.1
million the state currently spends ¡Ö to reduce the smoking rates
among all Vermonters, but targeting the low-income and uninsured.
