Health task force doles out $6 million in tobacco money

The Task Force for a Healthy Nevada doled out more than $6 million in tobacco money to health and anti-tobacco programs Thursday including $100,000 in each of the next two years for Carson Advocates for Cancer Care.

But when the two-day process was finally finished, one advocate for the Statewide Coalition for Tobacco Control expressed her disappointment with the whole process. Danielle Dreitzer of the American Cancer Society told the panel of lawmakers and volunteers that while the funding requests of numerous anti-tobacco programs were cut back, "almost one third of the money is being allocated toward dental needs."

"I find that very disappointing," said Dreitzer.

She referred to the $800,000 grant to fund a mobile oral health clinic which will, as part of its function, conduct cancer screenings and provide education to high school students about the dangers of smoking to oral health.

That money will go to the University of Nevada, Las Vegas Dental School project - the brainchild of State Sen. Ray Rawson, R-Las Vegas, a dentist who is also a member of the task force.

In the process, the Coalition for Tobacco Control's request for $300,000 was cut to $100,000 a year.

The next largest went to the Clark County Health District for anti-tobacco programs - $500,000.

In the health programs, the largest grant went to United Way which will use $750,000 a year to fund numerous smaller programs.

Nevada Community Enrichment was funded for $500,000 for a loan program to help the handicapped get loans to outfit their vehicles with specialized equipment such as wheelchair lifts and special controls.

In addition, the geriatric medicine program at the University of Nevada, Reno was funded for $200,000 this next year and $250,000 the following year for planning.

Altogether, the Task Force decided on grants totaling $6.2 million.