Improving health with tobacco dollars from the MSA: the Arkansas experience.
Analyses of expenditures from the historic tobacco Master Settlement Agreement (MSA) demonstrate the difficulties in achieving support for long-term disease prevention and health promotion initiatives. We report as a policy case study the successful development, political execution, and program deployment of new state health programs funded by Arkansas' MSA funds. Arkansas' success demonstrates the need for political leadership, the development and insertion of empirical health information into the policy deliberations, in-depth knowledge of the political process, and a broad-based coalition committed to improving health.
Thompson
Joseph W
JW
Arkansas Center for Health Improvement, Department of Pediatrics, University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences in Little Rock, USA.
Boozman
Fay W
FW
Tyson
Shirley
S
Ryan
Kevin W
KW
McCarthy
Suzanne
S
Scott
Ray
R
Smith
G Richard
GR
D001131:Arkansas / Q000453:epidemiology; D002017:Budgets; D005380:Financing, Government; D006291:Health Policy; D006293:Health Promotion / Q000191:economics / Q000331:legislation & jurisprudence*; D006801:Humans; D009026:Mortality / Q000639:trends; D011057:Politics; D013219:State Government; D019460:Tobacco Industry / Q000191:economics* / Q000331:legislation & jurisprudence