The strategy has been widely applauded as an ambitious and comprehensive evidence-based plan to reduce tobacco use in Alberta. However the implementation of this ambitious strategy has been impaired by a lack of funding, reporting, monitoring and evaluation.
At present, Alberta Health Services is spending only $1.00 per capita or $4 million annually on the tobacco reduction strategy. Five years after its renewal, the ATRS appears unlikely to meets its 10-year targets.
To meet best practice guidelines the annual tobacco control budget for Alberta should be approximately 48 to 60 million dollars.
While the funding for tobacco reduction has substantially eroded, tobacco tax revenues have substantially increased from $633 million in 2003 to over $1 billion in 2017/2018.
An online survey of 1,005 Albertans conducted by Leger Research in January 2017 revealed that 75 percent of respondents wanted the Alberta government to reinvest one-third of tobacco tax revenue in effective strategies to help smokers quit and to keep youth from starting to use tobacco. The survey also revealed that two-thirds of respondents (68%) support a cigarette tax increase of at least $1.50 per 20 pack. A tobacco tax increase of this size would generate over $100 million annually.