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ACS CAN Releases New Report Showing CA Slipping Way Behind on Tobacco Policies
August 6, 2015
FOR MORE INFORMATION CONTACT:
Steph McCorkle
American Cancer Society Cancer Action Network
916 802-4033
[email protected]
ACS CAN Releases New Report Showing CA Slipping Way Behind
on Cancer-Fighting Tobacco Policies
Lawmakers Have Opportunities During Special Session to Save Lives and Money
Sacramento, CA – August 6, 2015 – A report was released today by the American Cancer Society Cancer Action Network (ACS CAN) shows California is not doing enough to prevent, and reduce suffering and death from cancer. According to How Do You Measure Up?: A Progress Report on State Legislative Activity to Reduce Cancer Incidence and Mortality, California measured up to policy recommendations in only three of the nine issue areas ranked.
A color-coded system ranks a state by issue. Green shows best practices; yellow indicates moderate movement toward the benchmark and red is for states falling short. In 2015, more than 172,000 people will be diagnosed with cancer and 58,000 or more will die from it. One third of those cancer deaths will be caused by tobacco, which is why ACS CAN has joined Save Lives California in supporting a $2 per pack tobacco tax increase.
Tweet This: Not good, #CA . We're a "red" when it comes to our state's #tobacco control prevention spending. www.fightcancer.org/measure
“What stands out is how backward California has become in preventing cancer caused by tobacco use. As advocates, we’ve worked hard to teach people that tobacco is the number one preventable cause of death, yet our voices are not enough if policymakers don’t take action,” said ACS CAN Vice President, Government Relations Jim Knox.
Knox adds there is an unprecedented opportunity to turn California’s lack of progress on tobacco policies around. If passed, new tobacco bills pending or soon to be introduced in the Legislature would lift the state out of its poor ratings. Included is legislation that would close smoke-free loopholes, increase Medi-Cal coverage of cessation programs and raise the tobacco tax. Also under consideration is increasing the tobacco sales age to 21 and regulating e-cigarettes.
Infographics throughout the report compare states to one another. This year’s tobacco tax rate map shows every state adjacent to California now has a tobacco tax that is significantly higher. In fact, with Nevada’s new buck-a-pack increase that took effect last month, the Golden State’s tobacco tax rate is less than half that of the Silver State’s.
“We expect a tobacco tax increase will be re-introduced this month that will not only lower smoking rates, especially among youth, but also raise desperately needed revenue to bridge the Medi-Cal funding gap,” said Knox. “We have never had—nor are we ever likely to have in the future—a situation where we have bills pending that would catapult all four of our cancer-fighting tobacco policy ratings, directly saving lives in the process.”
How California Measures Up: Falling Behind
Cigarette Tax Rates YELLOW
Smoke-free Laws YELLOW
Tobacco Prevention and Cessation Program Funding RED
Medicaid Coverage of Tobacco Cessation Services RED
Indoor Tanning Device Restrictions GREEN
Increased Access to Medicaid GREEN
Breast and Cervical Cancer Early Detection Funding GREEN
Access to Palliative Care RED
Pain Policy YELLOW
ACS CAN, the nonprofit, nonpartisan advocacy affiliate of the American Cancer Society, supports evidence-based policy and legislative solutions designed to eliminate cancer as a major health problem. ACS CAN works to encourage elected officials and candidates to make cancer a top national priority. ACS CAN gives ordinary people extraordinary power to fight cancer with the training and tools they need to make their voices heard.
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