Save Lives and Money by Establishing Strong Tobacco Control Policies

ACS CAN supports legislation requiring all Kentucky insurers, including Medicaid and private insurers, to cover treatments recommended by the United States Preventive Services Task Force (USPSTF) for tobacco cessation, including all seven Food and Drug Administration (FDA)-approved medications and all three forms of counseling without cost-sharing or prior authorization.

ACS CAN supports comprehensive, statewide smoke-free legislation that protects the rights of nonsmokers inside all worksites, including bars and restaurants.

• Exposure to secondhand smoke in the workplace negatively impacts the health of Kentucky’s population and severely diminishes the critical competitive edge of a productive, stable, and efficient workforce.  There is no safe level of exposure to secondhand smoke, which has been proven to cause lung cancer, heart disease, and serious respiratory illness. 

•  The best way to reduce secondhand smoke exposure is to make all public places 100 percent smoke-free.  Everyone has the right to breathe smoke-free air, and no one should have to choose between their health and a good job.

 ACS CAN supports a tobacco excise tax increase of at least $1.50.

•  Kentucky’s tobacco excise tax of $0.60 is well below the national average of $1.60 and was last raised seven years ago.

•  Regular and significant increases in the tobacco excise tax are proven to reduce youth smoking.

• ACS CAN supports an increase of at least $1.50 per pack of cigarettes due to its meaningful, measurable track record of success proven to encourage people who use tobacco to quit and prevent kids from becoming addicted.