ALEXANDRIA, VA -- Even as states are debating dedication of large portions of the tobacco settlement funds to things like construction projects and new morgues, the health of our citizens the very reason these settlements were fought for is being ignored.

The people who fought long and hard to obtain the settlement funds made an unprecedented connection between private opportunism and public cost. They based their arguments on the damage tobacco use has inflicted on our society. Ironically, now that the money is flowing to the states, the potential for leveraging the victory is again being hijacked by opportunism.

Citizens want the settlement funds used as an investment in better health for future generations. Ninety-one percent of those polled earlier this year, by Research!America, favored spending a portion of the tobacco settlement funds on medical research. That same poll indicates that 84 percent support spending the settlement on youth anti-smoking education. When it comes to alleviating the costly toll of tobacco use, prevention and intervention go hand in hand, and the effectiveness of both is driven by research.

Public support for spending the tobacco settlement funds on research demonstrates confidence in the researchers who are working to unlock the secrets of illnesses such as cancer and heart disease.

And support for anti-smoking education shows a strong public commitment to increasing public health efforts that will help to prevent tobacco from continuing to drag down our youth.

Given that only one percent of the federal budget is spent on research and prevention for all diseases and disabilities, support for research at the state level would go a long way toward achieving our hopes of better health and quality of life for our children and grandchildren.

But neither research nor increased public health programs will happen if tobacco settlement funds are spent on things like public employee retirement funds, water development and tax refunds.

As state policy makers distribute the settlement funds, a few are making medical and health spending a priority. Michigan recently set a strong precedent by dedicating $1 billion over 20 years to medical research. And in Hawaii, Maryland, and Minnesota, smoking prevention and cessation programs will be funded for years to come.

State policy makers owe it to their citizens to allocate the tobacco settlement funds wisely. A significant public investment in medical and health research provides strong benefits, not only to health but to the economy as well.

For example, heart disease afflicts more than 12 million Americans and costs the United States more than $250 billion each year.

According to the Alliance for Aging Research, finding a way to achieve a five-year delay in the onset of heat disease could save an estimated $69 billion annually in health care, lost productivity and other societal costs.

Can we really afford not to make an investment in the research that will help us prevent heart disease and other tobacco-linked killers?

To date, except in a few states, the public's priorities have taken a back seat as medical research and public health are snuffed out by opportunism. It is time for state leaders to halt decision-making in smoke-filled rooms and devote the tobacco settlement to better health for their citizenry.

Taxpayers can and should hold their elected officials' feet to the fire, letting them know that they certainly do want the tobacco settlement used on their behalf in the form of prevention programs and more medical and health research.