ACS CAN: President Renews Call for Stronger Tobacco Control in FY 15 Budget Proposal
WASHINGTON, D.C. – March 4, 2014 – President Obama today unveiled an FY15 budget proposal that prioritizes tobacco control with an increase in the federal tobacco tax, emphasizes the importance of primary care with an investment in workforce training for new doctors and signals his ongoing support for increased investment in medical research.
A statement from Chris Hansen, president of the American Cancer Society Cancer Action Network (ACS CAN), follows:
“The president’s budget proposal shows that he remains committed to increasing the federal cigarette tax by an unprecedented 94 cents, which would save lives and reduce long-term health care costs. Increasing tobacco taxes is one of the most effective ways to keep kids from smoking and encourage people to quit. ACS CAN estimates that nearly doubling the federal cigarette tax would prevent about 493,000 children from premature death, reduce the number of adult smokers by 2.6 million over 10 years and lower health care costs by $55 billion.
“ACS CAN applauds the President’s proposal to invest more than $14.6 billion to expand and train the nation’s healthcare workforce – and investment that is vital to our ability to emphasize prevention and wellness in the health care system. This proposal builds upon the efforts included in the health care law and will further help cancer patients and their families, especially those in rural and underserved areas, to get the health care they need.
“We are disappointed that the president’s proposal reduces funding for critical breast, cervical and colorectal cancer screenings, offered through the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention to low-income and uninsured. While the Affordable Care Act makes strides in improving access to these proven prevention measures than can help to detect cancer at its earliest most treatable stages, millions of people will still need access to these critical programs in coming years.
“We are pleased that the budget proposal increases funding for medical research at the National Institutes of Health, but disappointed that the National Cancer Institute would receive only a nominal increase under the President’s budget. We hope that cancer research will be prioritized as details emerge about the proposed $970 million in supplemental funding for the NIH. Investment in cancer-specific research and proven cancer screening programs for low-income and uninsured are essential to eliminating death and suffering from a disease that will kill an estimated 585,000 people in America and cost the economy $216 billion this year.”
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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