Recently, I read an article about Gov. Paul LePage’s proposed defunding of the Fund for a Healthy Maine. It makes me very angry that he is even thinking of touching that money.

The Fund for a Healthy Maine is tobacco settlement money set up in 1999 to manage Maine’s share of the $206 billion due to states from tobacco companies as part of a settlement agreement.

For years, Maine has been praised by national groups for using the money for its intended purpose and not to fill budget gaps. There have been significant returns on the investment — an average of $7.50 per dollar invested.

But the returns go much further than the dollar value. Smoking among Maine’s youth has dropped 64 percent. The fund supports other programs — smoking cessation and prevention, substance abuse and teen pregnancy prevention, and programs to help at-risk parents improve their child-rearing skills and be able to keep their children at home.

The program saves Maine thousands of dollars.

The governor’s proposal would take money from the fund to close the budget gap, or perhaps to help pay for a tax cut that would benefit only Maine’s highest earners.

The governor’s proposal is not in the best interest of Maine’s people

Lawmakers must fight to keep the Fund for a Healthy Maine secure for the programs it serves that are so greatly needed.

Diane Mitchell, Rumford