INDIANAPOLIS, IN – As lawmakers dive into the new year, the American Cancer Society Cancer Action Network (ACS CAN) looks ahead to what public health initiatives our lawmakers can accomplish in the 2021 legislative session. Indiana has a long way to go regarding tobacco control policy and access to care for cancer patients. Long after this pandemic passes, people deserve to live full, healthy lives.
ACS CAN is advocating for:
Breast and Cervical Cancer Project Funding: preserving state funding for the Indiana Department of Health's Breast and Cervical Cancer Prevention Program. This program helps fill the health care coverage gap by providing low-income, uninsured and underinsured women access to mammograms and cervical cancer screenings. The impacts of COVID-19 make this program more critical than ever. By increasing access to care, the state can reduce the number of Indiana residents who will hear "you have cancer."
Cigarette Tax Increase: increasing Indiana's cigarette tax by $2 per pack. Increasing the price of tobacco products is a proven way to deter Indiana youth from starting to use tobacco and help those already using quit. A $2 per pack increase would prevent 39,000 youth from using cigarettes and cause over 65,000 adults quit. This is especially important in 2021, given the skyrocketing youth tobacco use rates.
ACS CAN volunteers look forward to meeting with lawmakers during ACS CAN's annual Cancer Action Week on January 25th-28th. ACS CAN encourages individuals, businesses and organizations that are interested in these issues to reach out to ACS CAN to get involved in the fight against cancer at: fightcancer.org/IN.
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About ACS CAN
The American Cancer Society Cancer Action Network (ACS CAN) is making cancer a top priority for public officials and candidates at the federal, state and local levels. ACS CAN empowers advocates across the country to make their voices heard and influence evidence-based public policy change as well as legislative and regulatory solutions that will reduce the cancer burden. As the American Cancer Society's nonprofit, nonpartisan advocacy affiliate, ACS CAN is critical to the fight for a world without cancer. For more information, visit www.fightcancer.org.