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Statement: ACS CAN Celebrates Tenth Anniversary of NY's Clean Indoor Air Act
July 29, 2013
July 24, 2013 Marks New York State Clean Indoor Air Act’s 10th Anniversary
Statement from Blair Horner, Vice President of Advocacy, American Cancer Society Cancer Action Network (ACS CAN), on the 10th anniversary of the Clean Indoor Air Act:
“The passage of New York State’s Clean Indoor Air Act was a historic moment for public health. The American Cancer Society and the Surgeon General agree: there is no safe level of secondhand smoke. Yet in 2002, the average New York bar or restaurant was essentially a hotbox of deadly carcinogens. For hospitality workers clocking an eight-hour shift, this was an incredibly dangerous situation. The Clean Indoor Air Act changed all that and undoubtedly has saved lives from cancer.
“New York State won a battle against Big Tobacco on this front, but the war is far from over. The tobacco industry continues to think up new ways to get kids hooked, so that they can create a generation of replacement smokers to replenish their customer base after users quit or are killed by their products. The industry’s latest marketing trick is to lure kids with fruit and candy flavored tobacco products on clear display at your local bodega in brightly colored packaging. New York State policymakers must protect kids today the same way we protected our hospitality workers 10 years ago, by restricting the sale of flavored tobacco (Senate bill 5686/Assembly bill 1179-A). In addition, New York lawmakers should support legislation to restore previous years’ budget cuts to the state’s tobacco control program (Senate bill 5462/Assembly bill 7426). In taking those two steps, New York State will reclaim its title as a national leader in tobacco control.”
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About the American Cancer Society Cancer Action Network
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, visitwww.fightcancer.org.
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