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Advocates Urge Legislators to Protect Health of PA Residents
FOR MORE INFORMATION, CONTACT:
Michelle Zimmerman
American Cancer Society Cancer Action Network
Phone: (888) 227-6446 Ext. 8601
E-mail: [email protected]
Over 100 Cancer Survivors & Advocates Join Together to Urge Legislators to Protect Health of Pennsylvania Residents by Increasing Price of Tobacco
Increase Would Save Lives and Generate Money in Pennsylvania
HARRISBURG, PA – May 17, 2016 – Today, the American Cancer Society Cancer Action Network (ACS CAN) brought together over 100 advocates to urge state lawmakers to stand up for the health of their constituents by passing a tobacco tax increase that would decrease use of these deadly products and protecting the right of all workers to breathe clean indoor air.
In Pennsylvania, an estimated 83,560 people will be diagnosed with cancer in 2016, and 28,700 will lose their battle with the disease. Those gathered at the State House today called on state lawmakers to change this by taking steps to make the fight against cancer a priority. Representative Anthony Deluca, a longtime supporter of legislation to improve the quality of life for cancer patients, addressed the advocates and encouraged them to continue their noble work.
“We met with our elected leaders today as representatives of the many men and women in Pennsylvania who are diagnosed with cancer each day” said Diane Phillips, director of government relations for ACS CAN, “these advocates, survivors, caregivers and patients have gathered together today with one goal in mind: to pass legislation that will save lives.”
Specifically, volunteers asked lawmakers to support raising the cigarette tax by $1.60 per pack and establishing a tax on other tobacco products based on their price.
A significant increase of $1.60 per pack in the price of cigarettes is estimated to keep 91,100 Pennsylvania kids from becoming tobacco-addicted adults, help 108,500 current Pennsylvania tobacco users quit, and save 57,600 Pennsylvanians from premature tobacco-related deaths. In addition to saving lives, increasing cigarette taxes and placing a tax on other tobacco products would produce much needed revenue for the state.
Additionally, volunteers asked lawmakers to strengthen Pennsylvania’s Clean Indoor Air Act by closing exemption loopholes. Under the current law, some businesses (including hotels, casinos, private clubs and some types of bars and truck stops) remain exempt from the requirement to protect clean indoor air by prohibiting smoking, and their employees still face secondhand smoke exposure daily in the workplace.
Many of the 83,560 cancer diagnoses and 28,700 deaths in Pennsylvania can be prevented. By protecting the states’ youth from the dangers of tobacco and protecting employees’ right to breathe clean indoor air in the workplace, we can help ensure future generations are spared hearing those terrible three words, “you have cancer.”
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. For more information, visit www.fightcancer.org.
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