By 2010, North Dakota is expected to become the only state in the nation that will fund its anti-smoking programs to the standards set by the Centers for Disease and Control and Prevention, Measure 3 supporters said Thursday.

In a Thursday press conference, about a dozen supporters gathered in the state Capitol to detail the next steps in creating an anti-smoking program with the funds approved under Measure 3, which is expected to increase North Dakota's total spending per biennium for tobacco prevention to $18.6 million by using bonus money from the 1998 tobacco settlement.

Kathy Mangskau, who helped organize the sponsoring committee for Measure 3, said the programs will help save millions of dollars in health care costs and significantly reduce youth smoking.

"Tobacco use is a big problem and it requires a big solution," Mangskau said.

A recent study conducted by a number of anti-smoking organizations, including the American Lung Association and Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids, found that most states receiving tobacco settlement money spend less than half of it on anti-smoking programs.

Since the 1998 tobacco settlement, $203 billion has gone to 46 states, but only $6.5 billion, or 3.2 percent, has gone to anti-smoking efforts, according to the study.

Measure 3 will help change that for North Dakota, said Jodi Radke, the regional director for the Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids.

"North Dakota ¦ will be a compass for this nation," Radke said.

Efforts are already under way to find the nine members for the anti-smoking advisory panel established under the ballot initiative, which will be charged with creating a statewide anti-smoking campaign.

Gov. John Hoeven is expected to select the panel by Dec. 26, which will include representatives from various state health associations, four non-state employees with experience in tobacco prevention and someone between the ages of 14 and 21.

Once the advisory committee is selected, it will then have 180 days to develop an anti-smoking plan, which cannot duplicate or supplant any current tobacco prevention efforts in the state.

Supporters say that comprehensive plan will help stop thousands of children from smoking, prompt thousands of adults to quit and prevent thousands of premature deaths caused by smoking.

Mangskau said no details are available for what kind of comprehensive plan the advisory committee is expected to draft. She said it will likely involve a media campaign and funding for local programs.

North Dakota State Heath Officer Terry Dwelle said smoking among high school students has decreased from 41 percent in 1999 to about 21 percent in 2007.

"And while those numbers are encouraging and impressive, we have a lot more work to do," Dwelle said. "We have not seen the same decline in adults."

(Reach reporter Brian Duggan at 223-8482 or brian.duggan@;bismarcktribune.com.)