While officials pointed to the department’s $1.8 trillion budget as a reason for the cuts, experts said payroll represented less than 1% of that amount.

As federal support for tobacco control vanishes, protecting public health from the harms of tobacco use now falls more heavily on our state and on communities like ours.

The St. Joseph County Department of Health has faced a new wave of staff cuts because of state budget cuts passed into law in April.According to local officials ...