WASHINGTON, D.C. June 22, 2012 The following is a statement from John R. Seffrin, Ph.D., chief executive of the American Cancer Society and its advocacy affiliate, the American Cancer Society Cancer Action Network (ACS CAN), on the defeat of Proposition 29 in California. Prop. 29 would have increased California 's tobacco tax by $1 and generated more than $700 million annually for cancer research and tobacco prevention programs.
Although not all of the votes have been counted, it has become clear that Proposition 29 was defeated by Big Tobacco 's $50 million campaign of deception. Prop. 29 's defeat is a loss for California, which would have benefited from the measure 's lifesaving impact, unprecedented investment in cancer research and billion-dollar reductions in health care costs.
Prop. 29 's defeat is proof that Big Tobacco will go to any lengths to protect their profits and hide the truth: that tobacco is the only legal product that kills when used as directed. The industry leveraged its largesse to systematically distract the public from Prop. 29 's proven health benefits and to fixate instead on outright myths about the measure.
The facts were clear. Prop 29 would have saved more than 104,000 lives, stopped more than 228,000 kids from smoking and invested more than $500 million annually into cancer research in California.
This result should serve as a battle cry for the rest of the nation that we cannot afford to back down against the predatory practices of Big Tobacco. Tobacco companies spend $1 million every hour marketing their products to youth and earn $6,000 in profits for every tobacco-related death in the United States and around the world. As a result, 3,800 kids pick up their first cigarette, 1,000 kids become addicted smokers and 1,200 people die from tobacco-related disease every day.
We know that proven interventions like Prop. 29 are what will enable us to save more lives from cancer. That 's never been more true than today, as we stand at an unprecedented place with extraordinary opportunities in the cancer fight. If we can do what we know works, we can and will beat Big Tobacco and help bring cancer under control.
Our work to save lives and protect kids from the harms of tobacco use does not end here. The American Cancer Society and its advocacy affiliate, the American Cancer Society Cancer Action Network, are working in all 50 states to pass and protect effective tobacco control policies that have been proven to save lives by establishing smoke-free workplaces, increasing tobacco taxes and funding tobacco prevention and cessation programs. Just recently, the Illinois legislature passed a $1.00 per pack tobacco tax increase that will save lives and prompt more than 53,000 adults to quit smoking. Our organizations are also invested in a November ballot initiative in Missouri to raise the state 's 17-cent tobacco taxäóî the lowest in the nationäóîto 90 cents.
We thank the thousands of American Cancer Society volunteers and the millions of families in California impacted by cancer who stood up with us against Big Tobacco. We also greatly appreciate the support of our partners, the American Heart Association, the American Lung Association, LIVESTRONG and Michael R. Bloomberg, for their tireless commitment to Prop. 29.
Tobacco use is the single biggest public health threat facing our country today. We must stand together and reject the tobacco industry 's relentless assault on our children, our health and our economy. We pledge to continue to fight for policies that stem the tide of the tobacco pandemic in this country.
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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FOR MORE INFORMATION, CONTACT:
Nicole Bender or Steven Weiss
American Cancer Society Cancer Action Network
Phone: 202-661-5773 or 202-661-5711
Email: [email protected] or [email protected].
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Paid for by Yes on 29, American Cancer Society Cancer Action Network Inc. and American Cancer Society Inc. Ballot Committee. Major funding by American Cancer Society Inc. and American Cancer Society Cancer Action Network Inc.