Most Americans are more mindful than ever about such costly congressional earmarks, boondoggles involving bridges to nowhere and outright fraud and criminality among some of our financial leaders. So it’s not surprising a number of us have noticed a $2 million sum aimed at creating Internet-based video conferencing to help smokers quit the habit.

Why?

We’re told that Kansas University researchers think that keeping watch on smokers they counsel on a long-distance basis will bring more success in fighting the cancer-causing behavior. The National Institutes of Health will give KU scientists $2 million over a four-year period to learn whether the video method is more effective to stop smokers than the telephone counseling they have been using.

Surprise, surprise. Some counselors say they think that some clients have been smoking while they discussed their habit via phone. The visual component of the $2 million package is supposed to suppress such an urge, at least until the subjects are off camera.

Doctors are supposed to be involved for recommendations. The NIH money is intended for staff salaries and computers, printers, software and Webcam equipment. Patients will be reimbursed for completing surveys and other materials.

If results of the four-year study show video is better than phones, “it could give rural doctors a way to deliver expert quit-smoking services to their patients,” says Kimber Richter, the associate professor of preventive medicine and public health who is leading the study.

Cigarette-smoking is a nasty, often-fatal habit that should be stamped out wherever possible. The practice and its effects are no laughing matter. But it seems foolish to spend $2 million in a video conference setup for something that could be handled much better at far less cost.

A $2 million grant here and another $2 million there and pretty soon we’re talking substantial, and questionable, money. We already have enough drains on our resources and one must ask whether this anti-smoking project is worth the cost.