TOPEKA, Kan. -- Picture a barroom brawl among angels.
That's how a struggle over how to spend money from the $206 billion settlement with Big Tobacco is shaping up across the nation. People full of good intentions are fighting over a pot of gold.The battle is especially intense in Kansas, where anti-tobacco advocates are fighting for money that could also buy vaccines, establish anti-drug programs in schools or help fund local health departments.
"The idea of pitting us against each other is wrong to begin with," said John Pepperdine, who lobbies for the American Cancer Society.
Kansas legislators haven't yet decided exactly which programs will get tobacco money when the state's next budget takes effect on July 1. But they have committed themselves to spending most of the state's $1.77 billion share on programs that provide services to children -- most of which have nothing to do with preventing smoking.
After the 1998 national settlement, the initial expectation was that most of the money would support health programs across the country, especially anti-smoking campaigns.
So far, though, only a few states have come close to pledging the minimum amount suggested by federal officials to wage an effective anti-smoking campaign.
Many states instead plan to use the money for purposes unrelated to health.
Los Angeles Mayor Richard Riordan even proposed using the city's share to cover lawsuits arising out of a scandal in which police officers allegedly framed innocent people.
In Kansas, many legislators have for years worried the state hasn't spent enough on health care for children, early childhood education or other such programs. They have argued such programs prevent youngsters from developing serious health problems or becoming criminals.
But they couldn't find the money to back up their rhetoric -- until the tobacco settlement.
Kansas legislators diverted nearly $81 million of the state's share to help balance the budget and deal with other financial problems. But they also created a children's trust fund and a 15-member Kansas Children's Cabinet to recommend exactly which programs should get money.
A survey released this month by the National Conference of State Legislatures shows that at least 12 states plan to use at least some of the money from the settlement on programs for children and adolescents.
On the Net: American Cancer Society: www.cancer.org
Kansas Legislature: www.state.ks.us/public/legislative/