Press Release: ACS CAN Reacts to Governor's Budget

FOR MORE INFORMATION, CONTACT:

Amber Hillman

American Cancer Society Cancer Action Network

Phone: 508-450-8690

E-mail: [email protected]

American Cancer Society Cancer Action Network Reacts to Governor’s Budget

HARTFORD – February 18, 2015 – This statement can be attributed to Bryte Johnson, director of government relations in Connecticut for the American Cancer Society Cancer Action Network (ACS CAN).

“ACS CAN is extremely disappointed in Governor Malloy’s proposal to eliminate the annual $12 million transfer of funds to the state’s Tobacco & Health Trust Fund (THTF). If this proposal passes, 2016 will mark the third time in eight years that Connecticut will rank dead last in the US in tobacco control spending.  

“The THTF is the primary source of funding for all tobacco control programs in Connecticut, including Medicaid coverage of tobacco cessation services. It is an extremely costly and unnecessary road to take, and any short term savings are dwarfed by the staggering toll tobacco use takes on our economy and our health care.

 “In order to significantly reduce tobacco use, which is responsible for one-third of all cancer deaths, ACS CAN encourages Governor Malloy to fully fund evidence based tobacco prevention and cessation programs, such as those provided by the THTF. Research shows that the more states spend on tobacco control, the greater the decrease in smoking – which not only saves money, but saves lives.”

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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