In some ways, you could say Heidi Heitkamp has turned the clock back about a decade.

The former North Dakota attorney general was a key player in the federal tobacco settlement that was reached with tobacco companies.

"When we signed the agreement, we were very excited because we thought North Dakota would for the first time have the resources that were necessary to invest in a tobacco control program that works," said Heitkamp of Mandan.

Those settlement dollars, however, were never allocated by state lawmakers for that purpose.

Turn the clock ahead to today, and Heitkamp is helping to lead a statewide initiated Measure 3 to get tobacco settlement dollars used for what they were intended -- a fully funded, comprehensive tobacco control and cessation program. "I know what we thought was going to happen with those (settlement) dollars. I know what we promised was going to happen with those dollars. And we've never lived up to that promise," Heitkamp said. "This is completing that piece of my public work in a different context."

Heidtkamp said there have been several attempts to get the Legislature to not use the federal tobacco settlement dollars for things unrelated to tobacco program, but none were successful.

"About a year ago, a group of tobacco control advocates that I worked with when I was attorney general called me and asked me what the new tobacco payments were for," she said of what is commonly referred to as "bonus payments."

North Dakota is receiving these bonus payments because of the work that she, her office and Lori Lovland did to get a national settlement, Heitkamp said.

"North Dakota for 10 years will receive on the average a little bit under $14 million a year as really a reward for the work the AG's office did," she said. "I said if ever there was a time to again pursue an idea to have a fully funded, comprehensivve program in North Dakota, that we should do it."

Heitkamp and the tobacco control advocates did discuss the idea of going back to the Legislature one more time, but they all "realized that those attempts had been woefully unsuccessfulin the past. So we said, 'What about initiated measure?'"

In three months, thanks to the work of some great volunteers, "including some wonderful people up in Williston," almost 17,000 approved signatures were gained to put the matter on the Nov. 4 ballot.

"We know that using tobacco money for tobacco control is common sense," she said. "Most of the people in North Dakota, if they don't know, are shocked that that money isn't going to fund a comprehensive program. But if they do know, they aren't happy about it."

Proponents of the measure have developed a Web site -- www.stpnd.org -- that provides some facts about tobacco use and the proposed measure language.

Some of the facts shared by Heitkamp and available for review on the Web site include:

*Not one penny of tax money would be used to fund this new tobacco prevention program, as all funding would come from settlement dollars.

*Tobacco kills more than 900 state residents every year and costs the state $247 million annually in excess health care costs, most of which are covered by taxpayers.

*More than 2,500 state youngsters try their first cigarette each year and another 800 youth become regular smokers. One third of these individuals will eventually die from the addiction.

*California's tobacco prevention program has seen smoking rates decline to 14 percent, compared to 21 percentin North Dakota. Lung cancer rates in California also have declined four time fasters than here.

*Funding prevention and cessation efforts at levels recommended by the Centers for Disease Control would stop 4,500 youngers from becoming adult smokers; reduce you smoking by 12.7 percent; prompt more than 3,500 adult smokers to quit for good; save more than 2,380 residents from dying prematurely from smoking.

"What we're saying is if you invest these dollars which were intended to be used for tobacco control anyway, if the voter decided to make this investment,they are going to most importantly save lives and prevent early death from kids who would pick up the habit who may be disuaded from using tobacco products," Heitkamp said.

The state also will save funding currently used in its Medicaid program to treat illness associated with smoking, she said.

"I always ask this question, 'How much do you think it costs if we have an elderly person in a nursing home who has chronic lung problems or emphezema?' It's an incredibly costly disease as a result of smoking," Heitkamp said.

By stopping diseases like emphezema, lung cancer, heart attacks and strokes that are all associated with smoking, "we're going to save money, not only in private insurance, but we're also going to save public money."

Almost 45 public health groups have endorsed Measure 3, she said, including doctors, nurses, the American Lung Association and respiratory therapists.

"The respiratory therapists are just excited about this. There is a group of people who often see the consequences of this public health problem and this addiction," Heitkamp said.

Heitkamp said the effort has received great support across the state, and there continues to be no organized opposition to Measure 3.

"Just a few legislators who aren't happy that we're intruding, as they see it, onto their prerogative of appropriation," she said.

The whole effort is fascinating considering everyone asks who is against it, "And you can say there isn't anyone who is willing to say they are against it, but yet it took an initiated measure to get this done."

As a result of the campaign, Heitkamp said a good coalition has been built involving people who believe in public health issues.

"Who believe that we can change outcomes in North Dakota. We can tackle other public health issues that we have,have a healthier state, have a state that keeps its promise to its kids and we can really be a leader nationally in dealing with problems associated with tobacco smoke," she said.

Heitkamp fully admits to not being a public health expert, however,which is why the measure proposes a committee that's insulated from political pressures to put together a tobacco program.

"And I'm very anxious to see what the North Dakota/CDC program is going to look like. It's very exciting," she said.

Heitkamp said tobacco control is very meaningful in northwestern North Dakota where there's an established Native American population in Trenton.

"One of the critical issues we have in tobacco control is among Native American people. Fifty poercent of Native American kids smoke. Fifty percent of Native Americans smoke. This is a problem that needs direct attention," she said.

Passing Measure 3 will provide the state with the resources to address smoking by Native Americans and pregnant women, who are another large group of smokers.

"You guys have a tremendous group of citizens up there who have worked very, very hard to get this on the ballot, working very, very hard to get the information out and educate the residents of Williston," she said.