As you're reading this, cancer advocates are fighting a major battle against Big Tobacco in California - a battle that, if won, could save more than 100,000 lives, $5.1 billion in healthcare costs and protect nearly 230,000 kids from the dangers of tobacco. Proposition 29, the California Cancer Research Act, is a ballot initiative that would establish California as the largest source of funding for cancer research outside of the U.S. federal government through a $1 cigarette tax increase. Appearing on the June 5 ballot, Prop. 29 was written by the state's leading public health groups - the American Cancer Society, American Heart Association and American Lung Association - to empower Californians to fight back against Big Tobacco's ongoing campaign of addiction and death. If passed, Prop. 29 would save lives not just through a reduction in smoking, but also by generating more than $500 million annually in new medical research funds to be spent in California. Additionally, about 20 percent of the new revenue (approximately $147 million annually) would be directed to tobacco control programs to help smokers quit and protect kids from Big Tobacco's predatory tactics. Big Tobacco has already poured nearly $40 million into spreading lies about Prop. 29 because they know that tobacco taxes are an effective way to prevent kids from smoking. As ACS CAN CEO John Seffrin and Lance Armstrong stated in a recent Los Angeles Daily News op-ed, research shows that every 10 percent increase in the price of tobacco reduces youth smoking by 6.5 percent. A $1 increase in the cost of cigarettes will result in 228,000 fewer California kids becoming addicted smokers - giving them a fighting chance against cancer and premature death. Furthermore, Prop. 29 will guarantee a steady investment to support research in California at a time when federal funding for research has never been more threatened. The investment will create 12,000 new jobs and an estimated $1.9 billion of new economic activity in California. It's a tough battle we're fighting in California, but we aren't doing it alone. A coalition of the nation's leading public health groups banded together in to form Californians for a Cure, a powerful united front to tell Big Tobacco enough is enough. Together, we're communicating to the public about the benefits of Prop. 29 see the TV ad below as an example. Californians for a Cure has just released a new video below that highlights the importance of this initiative in a satirical way. I invite you to share itwith your friends and family we've got to get the word out about this important vote for the health of all Californians. Big Tobacco will stop at nothing to continue its campaign of addiction and death. That's why a Yes vote on Prop. 29 means so much to all cancer patients and their loved ones, not just those living in California. I want to offer my thanks and appreciation to our grassroots staff and volunteers who have been instrumental in our efforts in California to save lives and defeat the tobacco industry. Yes on Prop. 29 would be a huge step to stem the tide of the tobacco pandemic in this country.
Mariah Forster Olson, an ACS CAN Ambassador Constituent Team Lead (ACT Lead), traveled to Washington, D.C. this week to share her story as a childhood cancer survivor and to advocate on behalf of other patients and survivors during the 2019 Childhood Cancer Action Days.