Each year, World No Tobacco Day shines a global spotlight on the devastating effects that tobacco use and second-hand smoke exposure have on public health worldwide. Everyone – lawmakers, public leaders, parents – should heed the World No Tobacco Day call-to-action, and seize the opportunity to join us in this fight.
Two decades have passed since states reached a landmark legal settlement that required major tobacco companies to pay states more than $246 billion over time as compensation for the health costs related to the suffering, death and disease caused by their dangerous products.
Voters made it clear that health care was a defining issue in this election, and that they consider fighting cancer and preserving and expanding access to health care top priorities.
We need more communities to join our movement to end cancer through legislative and policy change. One way in which we engage communities to do this is through our integration with the American Cancer Society’s Relay For Life®.
Pennsylvania became the second state since 2013 to enact a $1-per-pack increase to the state cigarette tax. At $2.60 per pack, Pennsylvania's tobacco tax is the 10th highest in the nation. It will help save lives, help current smokers quit and prevent thousands of kids from starting to use tobacco.
ACS CAN's Indiana Day at the Capitol event was one of nearly 50 similar events scheduled to take place in almost every state and the District of Columbia between January and May this year. During 2016 state sessions ACS CAN will be working to convince lawmakers to pass comprehensive smoke-free laws, increase tobacco taxes, improving the quality of life for cancer patients, prohibit the use of tanning devices for minors and guarantee access to health care and lifesaving cancer screenings.
According to a new edition of the ACS CAN report How Do You Measure Up? released today, most state legislatures are missing opportunities to enact laws and policies that could not only save lives, but also generate new revenue and long-term health care savings.
Increasing the price of a pack of cigarettes is the most effective way to help people quit smoking and keep kids from starting the deadly habit. That's why I'm thrilled that Nevada just passed a historic $1.00 per pack increase more than doubling its current tax!
Funding tobacco prevention programs isn't just the right thing to do, it's the smart thing to do. That is our message to states as ACS CAN today releases a report with several other public health groups showing states are shortchanging tobacco prevention and cessation programs despite conclusive evidence that these programs reduce smoking, save lives and save money.
Members of Congress, their staff and others in D.C. today will see a new ad in Capitol Hill newspapers and online with a big, bold headline: Senator Rescues Children.