Passage Urged for Budget Amendment for Public Health

WASHINGTON, D.C. – March 11, 2004 – An American Cancer Society Cancer Action Network (ACS CAN) proposal to increase the budget for public health while substantially reducing the national debt by increasing the federal tobacco tax to one dollar will be offered as an amendment to the Senate Budget Resolution by Senators Tom Harkin (D-Iowa) and Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.). ACS CAN has launched a nationwide grassroots campaign, including running phone banks and local advertising, to line up support for a vote on the Amendment, which may come as early as today.

“This Amendment is good fiscal policy and good for public health,” said Gary J. Streit, a member of the ACS CAN Board of Directors. “Raising the federal tobacco tax will generate ample new revenue for public health, including cancer research and prevention with enough left over for deficit reduction. On top of that, higher cigarette taxes are proven to reduce smoking, especially among youth. We call that a win-win, win-win.”
The Harkin-Feinstein Amendment will increase discretionary spending for public health programs in fiscal year 2005 by $6 billion. This figure matches the amount the American Cancer Society and almost 400 other organizations have called on the Administration and Congress to provide. The Administration’s proposed budget does not keep pace with inflation and threatens to slow medical research and delivery of new treatments. If enacted, it would cut public health funding for the first time since 1982. Meanwhile, strong public support exists for public health funding. According to a recent poll conducted by the American Cancer Society and Trust for America’s Health, more than three in four Americans (78 percent) want the government to increase spending to protect the nation’s health against major diseases and emerging bio-threats.

Strong public and bipartisan support also exists for tobacco tax increases. Since 2002, more than 30 states and the District of Columbia have turned to cigarette tax
increases for new revenue, including 17 instances in states with Republican governors. In every one of those states, tax revenues rose while smoking and cigarette sales declined. Nationwide and state polls show overwhelming broad, bipartisan support for tax increases.
“Budgets are about setting priorities and with this vote, Congress can demonstrate that funding for cancer research and prevention is a national priority,” said Daniel E. Smith, national vice president of ACS CAN. “The public is with us and we plan to let them know whether their Senators are with us too.”

Tobacco related illnesses kill 440,000 people a year and cost the economy more than $155 billion in direct health care costs and lost productivity, yet the current federal tobacco tax is just 39 cents. Raising the tax by 61 cents for a total of one dollar could generate enough revenue cover public health needs and help pay down the deficit. At the same time, increased tobacco taxes are a proven, effective strategy to lower use of a deadly product among youths and smoking adults. Studies show that every 10 percent increase in the price of cigarettes will reduce overall consumption by three to five percent and decrease youth smoking by seven percent.

The American Cancer Society Cancer Action Network (ACS CAN) is the nonprofit, nonpartisan sister advocacy organization of the American Cancer Society. ACS CAN is dedicated to eliminating cancer as a major public health problem through voter education and issue campaigns aimed at influencing candidates and lawmakers to support laws and policies that will help people fight cancer.