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F I S C A L I M P A C T R E P O R T
SPONSOR Hanosh
ORIGINAL DATE
LAST UPDATED
01/23/07
HB 89
SHORT TITLE
Cibola County Traditional Health Services
SB
ANALYST Weber
APPROPRIATION (dollars in thousands)
Appropriation
Recurring
or Non-Rec
Fund
Affected
FY07
FY08
$150.0
Recurring
General Fund
(Parenthesis ( ) Indicate Expenditure Decreases)
Relates to HB 90
Relates to Appropriation in the General Appropriation Act
SOURCES OF INFORMATION
LFC Files
Responses Received From
Indian Affairs Department (IAD)
Department of Health (DOH)
SUMMARY
Synopsis of Bill
House Bill 89 appropriates $150 thousand from the general fund to the Indian Affairs
Department to promote tobacco cessation in southwestern Cibola County, using traditional health
services such as Navajo blessing way teachings, for residents from the region near the Ramah
Navajo community.
FISCAL IMPLICATIONS
The appropriation of $150 thousand contained in this bill is a recurring expense to the general
fund. Any unexpended or unencumbered balance remaining at the end of Fiscal Year 2008 shall
not revert to the general fund.
pg_0002
House Bill 89 – Page
2
SIGNIFICANT ISSUES
The Department of Health contributes the following.
Tobacco exacts a heavy death toll in New Mexico. More than 2,100 New Mexicans die annually
from tobacco use, and each year smoking costs the State $928 million ($461 million for direct
medical costs; $467 million for lost productivity) (Centers for Disease Control & Prevention-
CDC, Smoking Attributable Morbidity, Mortality and Economic Costs, 2002).
CDC-identified goals for reducing tobacco-related morbidity and mortality include: preventing
initiation of tobacco use among young people, promoting tobacco cessation among young people
and adults, eliminating exposure to secondhand smoke, and identifying and eliminating tobacco-
related disparities among population groups.
Native American youth may be disproportionately affected by tobacco. Although the proposed
project would not be classified as CDC Best Practices, it would still address the CDC goal of
identifying and eliminating tobacco-related disparities by providing culturally appropriate
services to a population that is disproportionately impacted by tobacco.
New Mexico’s Native American youth and rural youth may be disproportionately impacted by
tobacco. The odds of using smokeless tobacco are 1.5 times higher among youth from rural
counties (11%) than youth in urban counties (7%). In addition, youth in rural counties are
significantly more likely to smoke (34%) than youth in urban counties (27%) (2003 NM Youth
Risk and Resiliency Survey [YRRS]). Smoking rates among American Indian youth were higher
than for Whites and Hispanics in 2001 and 2003. In 2005, all three groups were statistically
similar (NM YRRS, 2001, 2003 & 2005). Also, the Navajo Youth Risk Behavior Survey found
that 38% of Navajo High School youth smoked cigarettes in 2003 (Navajo Area Indian Health
Service and Navajo Nation).
Culturally-appropriate programming would help to decrease the disproportionate impact tobacco
may place on certain populations.
The Indian Affairs Department adds.
Cigarette smoking is a serious and worsening problem among American Indians. According to
2004 statistics compiled by the Centers for Disease Control, 33.4% of Native Americans are
current smokers. This represents the highest proportion by far for any ethnic group in the United
States. The trend is also of concern, as the number of Native smokers increased by 24.3%
between 1997 and 2004. Most disturbing, however, is the rate of smoking among young Indians.
In a survey of Navajo 7
th
graders from 1987, 54% were found to be smokers.
MW/mt