CHEYENNE, Wyo. (AP) — A report by a coalition of public health organizations ranks Wyoming fourth in the nation in funding programs to help prevent children from smoking and to help smokers quit tobacco.

Wyoming currently spends $5.1 million a year on tobacco prevention and cessation programs, which is about 57 percent of the $9 million recommended by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Under a settlement with tobacco producing companies in 1998, Wyoming and other states receive millions of dollars for use however they see fit.

The report by the public health organizations assesses whether the states have kept their promise to use a significant portion of their settlement funds to fight tobacco use.

Twenty-two percent of Wyoming high school students smoke, and 400 more kids become regular smokers each year.

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