WASHINGTON, D.C. -- February 4, 2009 -- Today, President Obama is widely expected to sign legislation into law that expands the State Children’s Health Insurance Program (SCHIP) with an increase in the federal cigarette tax. This legislation will improve access to quality health care for millions of uninsured children while saving more than 900,000 lives and preventing 1.9 million children from becoming lifelong tobacco users through an increase in the federal cigarette tax.
“By signing this legislation into law, President Obama has made good on his promise that the health of our nation’s children will be a priority in his administration,” said John R. Seffrin, Ph.D., national chief executive officer of the American Cancer Society and its advocacy affiliate, the American Cancer Society Cancer Action Network (ACS CAN). “The expansion of the SCHIP program will provide millions of uninsured children with critical health care coverage and carry the added health benefit of encouraging millions of people to give up their deadly smoking habit.”
The legislation raises the federal tobacco tax by 62 cents -- the first increase passed by Congress since 1997 and the largest single increase in the tax ever. Scientific studies have shown that raising the price of a pack of cigarettes by 10 percent reduces youth smoking by an estimated seven percent and overall cigarette consumption by four percent.
“The cancer community believes that increasing the federal cigarette tax should be only the first step to be taken this year to protect children from the deadly addictive products peddled by the tobacco industry, and that Congress should quickly approve legislation giving the Food and Drug Administration regulatory authority over tobacco products,” said Daniel E. Smith, president of ACS CAN. “In addition, the expansion of SCHIP should serve as a down payment on broader health care reform that can help to improve access to quality, affordable health care for all Americans.”
By also passing bipartisan legislation to grant the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) the authority to regulate the production and marketing of tobacco products, Congress and the president could put a stop to decades of deceptive practices by an industry that has blocked critical public health policies while escaping virtually any regulation of its deadly products.
ACS CAN is encouraging the president and Congress to take strong early action to fix the broken health care system. Americans deserve a health care system that places greater emphasis on the prevention of disease and provides everyone with access to health care that is adequate, affordable, available and administratively simple.
ACS CAN is the nonprofit, nonpartisan advocacy affiliate of the American Cancer Society, dedicated to eliminating cancer as a major health problem. ACS CAN works to encourage lawmakers, candidates and government officials to support laws and policies that will make cancer a top national priority. ACS CAN gives ordinary people extraordinary power to fight cancer. For more information, visit https://www.fightcancer.org/.
FOR MORE INFORMATION, CONTACT:
Alissa Havens
Phone: (202) 661-5772
Email: [email protected]
Christina Saull
Phone: (202) 585-3250
Email: [email protected]