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Campaign Unavailable We're sorry, this alert is no longer available. If you would like to learn more about ways you can take action, please visit American Lung Association of New York.The short explanation of this alert was: The annual American Lung Association report, State of Tobacco Control 2007 has been released! This national report card analyzes state tobacco control laws in four key areas; smokefree air, tobacco control program funding, cigarette taxes and youth access to tobacco. New York scored grades of "C" in cigarette excise tax, "A" in tobacco prevention and control spending, "A" in smokefree air and an "A" grade for youth access to tobacco. This report should be a wake-up call to the legislature and our governor about the need for continued tobacco control efforts in New York. Our cigarette tax is extremely low and the number of kids smoking is too high. Studies show that when the price of cigarettes goes up, youth smoking goes down. In fact, for every 10 percent increase in price, youth consumption will drop by about 7 percent. In 2007, the Institute of Medicine and the President's Cancer Panel both issued independent reports affirming that efforts to increase tobacco taxes are a proven way to lower smoking rates. Revenues from cigarette taxes should be used to fund tobacco prevention and education programs as well as other budget priorities. States that fund and implement comprehensive tobacco control programs have achieved significant reductions in tobacco use among both adults and youth. Reductions in tobacco use saves thousands of lives and produce enormous declines in state health care costs and other tobacco-related expenditures.
Please take a moment to send the attached letter to your state legislators for a call to action on increased cigarette taxes in New York.
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