WASHINGTON February 2, 2016 U.S. Trade Representative Michael Froman will join 11 other trade ministers in Auckland, New Zealand, this week to sign the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP), a trade agreement that for the first time includes a provision that protects the right of participating nations to adopt public health measures to reduce tobacco use and prevents tobacco companies from using the TPP to launch legal attacks on such measures. Following is a statement from ACS CAN President Chris Hansen: For far too long the tobacco industry has worked to undermine efforts around the world to encourage smokers to quit and prevent the next generation from becoming addicted to products that when used as directed kill. This historic agreement will ensure that signing nations can enact tobacco control measures intended to improve public health without lengthy and expensive interference from the tobacco industry. In this century, tobacco is projected to kill one billion people worldwide.æ Tobacco use is the number one preventable cause of death in the United States and around the world, killing more than 6 million people each year globally, including 480,000 in the United States. The TPP agreement sets an important precedent for future trade agreements to treat tobacco products differently. By approving this critical agreement, tobacco companies would no longer be able to bully countries working to protect citizens from the deadly impact of tobacco use. The American Cancer Society Cancer Action Network today sent a letter to Congress urging Members of Congress to vote for the TPP when it comes before Congress. 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. For More Info, Contact: Alissa Crispino American Cancer Society Cancer Action Network Phone: 202-661-5772 Email: [email protected] #acscan #TPP #WorldCancerDay #tobaccocontrol