From mid-2001 to mid-2004, the Protect Montana Kids coalition, with the American Cancer Society as the lead organization, conducted statewide activities to reduce tobacco use, particularly among children and youth.

The project was part of the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation (RWJF) national program SmokeLess States®.

Key Results
Among the key results of the project are the following:

• Montana increased its cigarette excise tax to $1.70 per pack — one of the highest tobacco taxes in the country — and increased taxes on spit tobacco and other tobacco products.
• Montana made headway in establishing smoke-free communities, including passage of a comprehensive smoke-free ordinance in Helena, Montana's capitol, and a smoke-free ordinance in Bozeman, which covered all workplaces except for bars and casinos. In 2005, after RWJF's funding ended, the 59^th Montana Legislature passed the Montana Tobacco-Free Schools and Clean Indoor Air Act.
• Protect Montana Kids and other organizations successfully challenged the constitutionality of a limited preemption statute in the state Supreme Court.
• Montana secured $3.2 million from its Master Settlement Agreement (32 percent) for tobacco prevention and control, up from the $400,000 previously set aside for this purpose.

Funding
RWJF provided $1,057,959 for this project. Montana also received four grants from the program's Special Opportunities Grant Fund. Other sources — including the Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids, the American Heart Association and the American Cancer Society — contributed over $500,000 to support lobbying and other activities; no RWJF funds were used to support lobbying. (See Appendix 1 for a list of additional funders.)