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AAP News Vol. 15 No. 1 January 1999, p. 4 © 1999 American Academy of Pediatrics
While the recent settlement between the state attorneys general and the tobacco industry included some public health provisions aimed at reducing youth smoking, it also left a number of glaring omissions. Pediatricians and other child advocates are needed most now to fill in those blanks with additional action on the state and federal level. Although the Nov. 16 agreement requires the tobacco industry to pay the states $206.4 billion over the next 25 years as reimbursement for Medicaid expenses, it does not address how states must spend those dollars. Pediatricians should contact their state legislators to urge that settlement funds be used for tobacco-control programs.
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