Youth wants to see more done to keep kids away from tobacco

Great New Letter from advocate Colleen Daly in the Asheville Citizen Times!

As someone who has seen the repercussions of tobacco use on both our youth and economy, I believe that raising the cigarette tax is clearly a win/win situation.

North Carolina is in desperate need of funds. Raising the tax prevents kids from starting to smoke and provides incentives for adults to quit while providing greater revenue for beneficial programs under the state's jurisdiction.

North Carolina has the fourth-lowest cigarette tax in the United States. According to the Campaign for Tobacco Free Kids, a dollar increase in taxes will generate up to $329 million in the first year and significantly reduce expenditures within the health care system. Within five years, $2.1 billion could be saved from health care expenditures related to preventable illnesses and deaths caused by tobacco products.

Although it is illegal, minors are targeted every day by the tobacco industry. By raising the cigarette tax we can reduce teen smoking by 17 percent and saves thousands of lives in North Carolina. As a young person, I see many of my peers fall victim to big tobacco. I hope that my legislators will work to help them.

Colleen Daly, Asheville

Daly is the 2009 Southern Regional Youth Advocate of the Year for the Campaign for Tobacco Free Kids.

Changes are Coming!

Hello everyone,

Now that we have seen the passage of HB2, you might think this blog has no purpose. Wrong! There are many important health issues, and the Heart Association and You're the Cure Advocates will continue to fight the good fight. As you can see, we've changed our address to www.yourethecurenc.blogspot.com. We will make more changes in the coming weeks, but first here is a letter to the editor from one of our advocates, Yolanda Dickerson!

Healthy Revenue

At just 35 cents per pack, North Carolina's cigarette tax is the third lowest in the nation. Bringing it in line with other states would generate significant tax revenue and reduce health care spending as smokers drop the habit and become healthier.

With benefits like that, raising cigarette taxes would be a good idea any time, but the current budget deficits make it even more important. We must find a way to reduce costs and raise revenue, or we face deep cuts in important state programs. Public health programs alone are targeted for $38 million in cuts.

Raising North Carolina's cigarette excise tax by just $1 per pack would reduce youth smoking by an estimated 17 percent, thus preventing addiction among 89,500 young people. An estimated 59,500 adults would stop smoking and 44,400 lives could be saved if taxes go up a dollar.

Legislators face many tough decisions as they attempt to address the budget shortfall, but raising cigarette taxes is a no-brainer. By taking one simple, common sense action, North Carolina can increase revenue, cut spending and improve public health. Increasing cigarette taxes is a win-win-win proposition.

Yolanda Dickerson

Wendell

http://www.newsobserver.com/opinion/letters/story/1554401.html

Signing of the Bill

Governor Perdue has scheduled the bill signing for HB 2 on Tuesday May 19th at 11:30 am at the NC Capitol in the old House Chambers!

It passed!

HB2 just passed the House. This is a historic step for North Carolina! This is a great step that will protect restaurant and bar employees and patrons. While the bill did not include protection for all workers in places like bowling alleys or convenient stores, we will continue to work at a local level to protect all workers!

HB 2 Passes Senate Without Amendments!

Here's an update from the NC Alliance for Health.

HB 2, Prohibit Smoking in Public and Workplaces, passed third and final reading by the NC State Senate by a vote of 30 to 18. As you may recall from action last week in the Senate Health Care Committee, the bill was scaled back from a comprehensive worksites bill (that would cover all worksites) to a restaurants and bars only bill with some restoration of local control.

Despite the scaled back version of the bill, most see this as an HISTORIC vote for North Carolina and a step toward protecting public health. In its current form, the bill will make all restaurants and bars in North Carolina smoke-free – a huge victory in a tobacco state like North Carolina.

One amendment was offered and defeated during third reading debate:

· Sen. Phil Berger (R- ) offered an amendment that would have vastly broadened the definition of “private club” to include any organization that holds “a permit to sell alcoholic beverages and may or may not serve food for pay to anyone who is a member or member’s guest.” This amendment would have eliminated the restriction that “private clubs” exempted from the bill include only those that were private, non-profit 501c3 organizations (such as the Veterans of Foreign Wars or Elks Lodges), opening the exemption as a possibly larger loop-hole in the bill. This amendment would have allowed bars and/or restaurants to become private membership clubs by charging a nominal fee to become members. Other states with such exemptions have seen bars charge $1 “membership fees” to meet the terms of a “private membership club” so that they could permit smoking and skirt the law. This amendment was defeated by the close vote of 25 to 23. To see the vote count on this amendment, go to HB 2 Senate Amendment 3.
HB 2 will now return to the House where the House can either agree to the Senate’s version of the bill (known as concurrence) or disagree (knows as non-concurrence) and appoint a conference committee. Stay tuned for next steps for HB 2 in additional updates this week.

Teen supports House Bill 2 in battle against teen smoking

Here's a great letter to the editor from one of our advocates with the Heart Association. Colleen also just won the South Regional Award from the Campaign for Tobacco Free Kids. Congrats Colleen!

As House Bill 2 goes to the General Assembly for debate, I hope our representatives will consider the dangers secondhand smoke pose to the health of their constituents and the effect House Bill 2 has on youth.

House Bill 2 not only significantly reduces most people's exposure to secondhand smoke, but can also act as a preventive measure for adolescents.

According to a May 2008 issue of the Archives of Pediatrics & Adolescent Medicine, teens living in cities with restrictions on smoking in public places were 40 percent less likely to pick up the habit.

By preventing teenagers from beginning to smoke, we can also prevent them from obtaining life-threatening illnesses.

The Centers for Disease Control stated that if current smoking patterns persist, more than 5 million of today's teens will die prematurely because of smoking-related diseases.

As a senior in high school, I have seen the ramifications of tobacco use on my peers. I support House Bill 2 strongly because I don't want to continue watching my friends fall to this habit. I hope my senator will strive to protect them as well.

Colleen Daly, Asheville

HB 2 to be Heard in Senate Health Committee This Week

We are working hard to restore HB 2 to its' original form and hope that when it is heard in the Senate Health Committee this week, it will be stronger. Help us ensure that we protect all workers from secondhand smoke exposure by sending a message now to your Senator asking him or her to support a strong HB 2. Visit www.smokefreenc.org to send your email right now!