| For Immediate Release November 04, 2005 |
Contact: Jennifer Friedman 202.296.5469 |
Tobacco-Free Kids Action Fund Endorses Roslyn Tyler for Virginia House of Delegates
Statement of William V. Corr, Executive Director, Tobacco-Free Kids Action Fund
Washington, DC - The Tobacco-Free Kids Action Fund is pleased to announce our endorsement of Roslyn Tyler for the Virginia House of Delegates from the 75th District. We are confident that Roslyn Tyler will be a committed leader in protecting kids from tobacco and reducing its devastating toll in Virginia. The policies that Roslyn Tyler support will make a real difference for Virginia by helping to reduce smoking, save lives and save money by reducing smoking-caused health care costs.
Roslyn Tyler has pledged to be a champion of all three policies prescribed by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) to reduce smoking and exposure to secondhand smoke: passing comprehensive smoke-free workplace laws; increasing the tax on cigarettes; and implementing effective programs to help smokers quit and prevent kids from starting in the first place. Virginians can rest assured that their health will be a priority under the leadership of Roslyn Tyler.
Virginia has a long way to go in protecting its citizens from tobacco. Tobacco use is the leading preventable cause of death in Virginia, claiming more than 9,200 lives each year and costing the state $1.92 billion annually in health care bills, including $369 million in Medicaid payments alone. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) estimates that smoking-caused health expenditures and productivity losses cost Virginia $6.17 for every pack of cigarettes sold in the state. Government expenditures related to tobacco amount to a hidden tax of $543 each year on every Virginia household. Some 21 percent of Virginia high school students are current smokers, and 18,800 more kids become regular smokers every year.
The good news for Virginia is that the state's leaders can play an active role in reducing the terrible toll of tobacco by implementing the following proven policy solutions:
Tobacco prevention and cessation programs: These programs, which include school and community programs, advertising and programs to help smokers quit, are proven to reduce smoking, save lives and save taxpayers money by reducing smoking-caused health care costs. States with effective prevention programs have cut youth smoking rates by as much as 50 percent in just a few years. Such programs have also been shown to save as much as $3 in smoking-caused health costs for every dollar spent on prevention. Virginia currently allocates $13 million a year to the Virginia Tobacco Settlement Foundation (VTSF), the organization charged with running the state's tobacco prevention programs. This amounts to just one-third of the minimum amount recommended by the CDC, and ranks Virginia 22nd
among the states in the funding of tobacco prevention programs.
Higher tobacco taxes: Raising the price of cigarettes through higher taxes is scientifically proven to reduce smoking, especially among kids. Increasing cigarette taxes reduces smoking, saves lives and raises much-needed revenue. Since January 1, 2002, 42 states, along with the District of Columbia and Puerto Rico, have increased cigarette taxes, thereby more than doubling the average state cigarette tax from 43.4 cents to 91.7 cents per pack. Last year, the Virginia Legislature voted to increase the state's cigarette tax by 27.5 cents bringing the total tax to 30 cents per pack. Virginia has the 45th lowest cigarette tax in the nation.
Smoke-free workplace laws: Eight states now have comprehensive smoke-free workplace laws that cover restaurants and bars – California, Connecticut, Delaware, Massachusetts, Maine, New York, Rhode Island and Vermont. Four other states – Florida, Idaho, Utah and Montana – have smoke-free laws that include restaurants. Hundreds of cities, counties and entire countries have also enacted strong smoke-free laws. These laws protect everyone's right to breathe clean air, free from the proven health hazards of secondhand smoke. Secondhand smoke contains more than 4,000 chemicals and 69 known carcinogens including formaldehyde, lead, arsenic, benzene and radioactive polonium 210. It is a proven cause of serious health problems, including heart disease, lung cancer and chronic lung ailments such as bronchitis and asthma. While smoke-free laws protect health, numerous studies and the experience of smoke-free communities show that such laws do not hurt business and may even have a positive impact.