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Gov. Bush against no-smoking initiative

TALLAHASSEE - Gov. Jeb Bush said Thursday he opposes a proposed citizens' initiative that would earmark millions from Florida's settlement with the tobacco industry for youth smoking prevention programs.

Bush said he would like the Legislature to put more money into the antismoking programs, which have been essentially eliminated by lawmakers in recent years, but cited his long-standing philosophical opposition to using the state Constitution to address most policy changes.

"I don't think we need a constitutional amendment for every issue under the sun," Bush said.

The Legislature has chopped Bush's budget requests for additional money for the once-celebrated Tobacco Pilot Project and TRUTH advertising campaigns aimed at teenagers. It cut the program's budget from $70-million in its first year in 1998 to $1-million in each of the last three years.

"I actually thought the ads were pretty good," Bush said. But he said it's not clear why teen smoking continues to drop, since they're no longer on the air.

A coalition of antismoking groups is pushing a ballot measure to force the Legislature to set aside 15 percent of the tobacco settlement payment for youth smoking prevention programs, including ads, school programs and enforcement of teen smoking laws. That would amount to about $54-million a year.

"We agree with the governor that you shouldn't pursue a constitutional amendment for everything under the sun," said Paul Hull, a vice president of the American Cancer Society in Florida. "But we clearly see this as an option of last resort.

[Last modified September 16, 2005, 01:35:22]