From: [n--l--n] at [io.org] (Nigel Allen)
Newsgroups: misc.taxes,talk.politics.drugs,talk.politics.medicine
Subject: Health Coalition Tells Senate Finance Committee Tobacco Tax is Good Policy
Date: 3 May 1994 01:42:38 -0400

Here is a press release from the Coalition on Smoking OR Health.
I downloaded the press release from the PR On-Line 
BBS in Maryland at 410-363-0834. I do not work for the Coalition.

 Health Coalition Tells Senate Finance Committee Tobacco Tax is
Good Health and Economic Policy
 To: National Desk, Medical Writer
 Contact: Sharon Jenkins-Brown of the American Cancer Society,
          202-546-4011,
          Joe Marx of the American Heart Association, 202-822-9380,
          or Diane Maple of the American Lung Association,
          202-785-3355


   WASHINGTON, April 28   -- Citing the historic opportunity for 
Congress to enact a $2-per-pack tax increase on cigarettes, 
Kenneth E. Warner, Ph.D., a leading health economist, testified 
today before the Senate Finance Committee.
   Warner appeared on behalf of the American Cancer Society, the
American Heart Association and the American Lung Association, united
as the Coaltion on Smoking OR Health.
   "A high tobacco tax, with a generous portion earmarked to help
tobacco farmers and their communities make the transition to other
sources of income, represents good health and economic policy.  The
$2-per-pack tax increase presents an historic opportunity to
simultaneously reduce tobacco use, help fund health care reform, and
provide meaningful assistance to tobacco-growing communities.  This
is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to protect the public's health,
and I urge this committee to take advantage of it," said Warner.
   Warner is professor and chair of the Department of Public Health
Policy and Administration at the University of Michigan School of
Public Health.  He has spent 18 years researching disease prevention
and the health consequences of smoking.  Last month, Warner releasd a
widely-publicized study in the Journal of the American Medical
Association which indicated that in most states more jobs would be
created than would be lost if tobacco sales were reduced.
   The Coalition on Smoking OR Health has been joined by more than
100 health and civic organizations as well as former president Jimmy
Carter, former surgeon general C. Everett Koop and former HEW
secretary Joseph Califano, in urging Congress to pass a $2-per-pack
tax increase on cigarettes and other tobacco products.
   In an effort to provide guidance to Senate committe members,
Warner outlined five points that he said represent the consensus of
independent health policy experts who have studied tobacco taxes over
the years.
  1) A major increase in tobacco taxes is good health policy.
   Any significant tobacco tax increase will avoid premature deaths
by reducing tobacco use.  A $2-per-pack increase will reduce tobacco
use by nearly a quarter and encourage more than 7 million Americans
not to smoke, thereby preventing 2 million premature deaths over
time.  It is the single most effective way to rapidly and
significantly reduce tobacco use among children and adults.
   2) A major increase in tobacco taxes is good health care policy.
   The most recent and thorough analysis of the medical costs
associated with smoking finds that smoking imposes an estimated half
a trillion dollars in excess lifetime health care costs for current
and former smokers.
   3) Tobacco taxes are a highly reliable source of significant
revenue and will continue to be for many years to come.
   Although tobacco tax increases will reduce tobacco use, the tax
will generate substantial new revenues because the percentage drop in
consumption is far less than the percentage increase in price.
   4) It is fair to single out tobacco as a source of revenue for
health care reform.
   Tobacco is unique.  Unlike any other consumer product, tobacco
kills hundreds of thousands of people -- more people than all other
consumer products combined -- it is harmful to all users at all doses
and it is highly addictive.
   5) Tobacco taxes are a popular financing mechanism for health care
reform.
   A national poll shows that about two-thirds of American voters
support a $2-per-pack tobacco tax increase, including 66 percent of
Democrats, 63 percent of Republicans, 65 percent of voters in
tobacco-growing states, 71 percent of Latino voters, 63 percent of
African American and even 33 percent of smokers!

     The Coalition on Smoking OR Health was formed in 1982 by the
American Cancer Society, the American Heart Association and the
American Lung Association to more effectively inform federal
legislators and other public officials about the health consequences
of tobacco use.  Combined, these three health organizations represent
more than 6 million volunteers throughout the United States.
    ------

   Editors: Warner will be available to the media this morning
(April 28).  Call Sharon Jenkins-Brown to arrange for an
interview.


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