Great American Smokeout an Opportunity for Congress to Decrease National Tobacco Burden by Increasing the Federal Cigarette Tax
Statement from John R. Seffrin, PhD, CEO of the American Cancer Society Cancer Action Network (ACS CAN)
WASHINGTON, D.C. – November 21, 2013 – “Today is the American Cancer Society’s Great American Smokeout, a day that smokers are encouraged to make a plan to quit their deadly habit and lawmakers are urged to support proven tobacco control policies that save lives. The American Cancer Society Cancer Action Network (ACS CAN) is urging members of Congress to support a proposal that would increase the federal cigarette tax by 94 cents and prevent 626,000 children from smoking-related death. S. 826, originally co-sponsored by Sens. Blumenthal, Harkin and Durbin, would also raise taxes on other tobacco products. ACS CAN estimates that the proposed cigarette tax increase would prevent 1.7 million children from becoming addicted smokers.
“Raising the price of tobacco products is one of the most effective approaches to encourage people to quit and prevent kids from picking up the deadly habit in the first place. Research has consistently shown that every 10 percent increase in the price of cigarettes reduces youth smoking by 6.5 percent and overall cigarette consumption by about 4 percent.
“The benefits of an increase in the federal tobacco tax are not just limited to children. Congress can reduce the number of adult smokers by nearly 2.6 million over 10 years by passing a 94-cent cigarette tax increase. Furthermore, this proposal comes at a time when there is a lot of discussion about how to reduce health care costs. ACS CAN estimates show that a 94-cent increase would save the country more than $63 billion in long-term health care costs from fewer youth and adult smokers, in addition to generating more than $78 billion in new revenue.
“January will mark the 50th anniversary of the landmark U.S. Surgeon General’s report that scientifically linked smoking to disease and death. The smoking rate has been cut in half in the ensuing decades, but more than 443,000 Americans will still die from smoking-related diseases this year. Tobacco use remains the nation’s most preventable cause of death. Increasing the federal tobacco tax will save lives, save money and prevent numerous tobacco-related diseases. There has never been a better time for Congress to become heroes in the fight against tobacco use by helping to protect kids from lifelong addictions.”
ACS CAN debuted a new advertising campaign in Washington, D.C., this month that challenges Congress to become heroes and save lives by increasing the federal tobacco tax. Click here to view the ad: ht.ly/qivrQ.
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.acscan.org.
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