Before heading home from Augusta, state Sens. Edward Youngblood, Brewer; Mary Cathcart, Orono; Tom Sawyer, Bangor; and Betty Lou Mitchell, Etna; and Reps. Joe Perry, Patricia Blanchette and Jacqueline Norton, Bangor; and Matthew Dunlap, Old Town, signed pledges to find a way to protect the Fund for a Healthy Maine.

The Fund for a Healthy Maine was created in 1999 by the 119th Legislature to receive and disburse Maine’s share of the tobacco settlement. About 35 percent of the $221 million, including $40 million since 2001, has been diverted to the General Fund.

“The Fund for a Healthy Maine is unique,” said Ed Miller, chief executive officer of the American Lung Association of Maine. “Tobacco use costs Maine people a quarter of a billion dollars every year. We’ve paid the price in increased health costs and lost lives. The Fund for a Healthy Maine is the only way we can offset some of this economic and physical devastation. Signing the pledge to protect the Fund for a Healthy Maine shows foresight and leadership and we applaud their decision to take this pledge to protect the health of Maine citizens.”

According to the law that created the Fund for a Healthy Maine, the fund’s purpose is to provide the following: tobacco prevention, cessation and treatment; low-cost prescription drugs for the elderly; child care; home visitation to new parents; increased access to dental care; an expanded Medicaid program and comprehensive school health programs, including school-based health centers.

Coalition members include: Maine Coalition on Smoking or Health, American Cancer Society, American Lung Association, American Heart Association, Consumers for Affordable Health Care, Maine Council of Senior Citizens, Maine Equal Justice Project, Maine Medical Association, Maine Public Health Association, Maine Women’s Lobby, Maine Council of Churches, Maine AFL-CIO, Maine Hospital Association, Maine Osteopathic Association, National Association of Social Workers, Maine People’s Alliance and Planned Parenthood.