The Assembly Oversight, Analysis, and Investigations Committee Chairman Andrew Hevesi (D-Queens) and Ranking Minority Member Michael Montesano (R,I,C-Glen Head) co-authored a letter to the New York State Department of Health (NYSDOH) on March 31st asking for an accounting on the agency’s failure to submit an Independent Evaluation Report for the New York Tobacco Control Program since the 2012 review, which was delivered over a year late. New York State law requires this report to be submitted by September 1st of each year. The information contained in the independent evaluation provides valuable insight to lawmakers on the effectiveness of the program in relation to funding levels during the state budget negotiation process. In addition to the reporting failure, NYSDOH has not made clear who they have contracted with to conduct both the 2013 and 2014 reports. The contract between the agency and former program evaluation vendor RTI International expired on January 12, 2013. The letter is requesting that NYSDOH release the legally required 2013 evaluation report, and clarify how the agency resolved the vendor’s expired contract.

At the time of the last report submission by NYSDOH, the 2012 Independent Evaluation Report suggested there were significant developments in cessation patterns lawmakers should consider when making future funding determinations for the state’s Tobacco Control Program. New York State generates an average of $2 billion in tobacco tax revenues annually. As of 2012, only 2% of this funding totaling $41.4 million was dedicated to the Tobacco Control Program, while the control model in New York has gained much notoriety for its effectiveness of increasing cessation rates, surpassing national averages between 2005 and 2009. However, funding cuts in recent years to the program, as noted in the 2012 Independent Evaluation Report, have been matched with stagnating rates of public awareness and cessation. Between 2008 and 2011, the budget for the program was reduced over 50%. The 2012 Independent Evaluation Report recommends that effectiveness of the program could be increased by adjusting funding to a minimum of $127.5 million, which would only amount to half of the United States Center for Disease Control suggested budget.

“We know that tobacco use is a huge risk factor for heart disease,” said Julianne Hart, New York State director of government relations for the American Heart Association. “We need an independent evaluator to assess the Tobacco Control Program annually so that we have the data on our side as we advocate for the state Legislature to increase funding to the Tobacco Control Program, our best tool in helping people quit the deadly tobacco habit. The American Heart Association is grateful that Assemblymen Hevesi and Montesano are shedding light on the importance of timely reporting.”

"The Department has a legal obligation to annually audit its tobacco control program. Failing to do so not only limits important information available to policymakers, it undermines the public's trust in its own government," said Blair Horner, Legislative Director for the New York Public Interest Research Group. "The law is the law, state government shouldn't be allowed to cherry pick what laws it chooses to follow."