The recent article regarding the unhealthy retail choices in Butte County tells a sad story concerning the health of our community.

The retail environment is one of several reasons that Butte County has slipped to 45th out of 57 counties in the rankings published by the University of Wisconsin. Tobacco is another. In December 2013, the current adult smoking rate in Butte was at 20.90 percent, much higher than the state average of 13.63 percent. Yet in 2013 we received $2,946,746 from the tobacco settlement lawsuit agreement, none of which was used for tobacco use reduction.

During most of the 2000s, the county put roughly 10 percent of the $1.5 million received at that time toward tobacco prevention. It made a difference:

• In 2010 we were ranked 35th in the county health rankings.

• From 2000 to 2011 daily tobacco use by ninth graders dropped from 16 percent to only 7 percent, according to the California Healthy Kids Survey.

• From 2000 through 2008 smoking cessation groups were offered in Chico, Oroville, Paradise and Gridley on a regular and consistent schedule. Hundreds of smokers attended and many quit.

If 10 percent of the lawsuit settlement funding was redirected to the Health Department to fund tobacco prevention programs, it would only cost roughly $290,000 a year. The CDC estimates that tobacco costs Butte more than $38 million a year. This is an opportunity to practice sound fiscal judgment that will save the county millions for years to come. Please urge Butte County to do the right thing and spend it as intended.