By NEIL H. SIMON, Media General News Service
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WASHINGTON—On the eve of the Democratic presidential primary in tobacco-rich North Carolina, the American Cancer Society touted new poll data and a voter guide Monday aimed at making cancer a political issue in the 2008 presidential race.
In the voter guide, to be made available online this week, Republican Sen. John McCain says he “does not propose to increase tobacco taxes.”
Democratic Sens. Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama both support increasing the federal tobacco tax, now 39 cents-a-pack on cigarettes.
“It’s not enough just to promise,” said American Cancer Society lobbyist Daniel E. Smith. “We’re going to use that as a guide, so we get people to think when they go into the voting booth, this is a voting issue.”
Click the play button below to hear Smith talk about the 2008 guide.
Seventy-three percent of voters support increasing taxes on tobacco, according to poll results released Friday by the American Cancer Society. Tobacco has been linked to nearly a third of cancer cases.
The poll found 87 percent support creating a new cancer fund, rather than funding various cancer projects piecemeal as they are now. The survey of 1,015 registered voters was conducted by Lake Research April 18-25 and has a margin of error of plus or minus 3.1 percentage points.
The voter guide, poll and a six-month nationwide “Fight Back Express” bus tour show the measures health advocates are taking to turn what has traditionally been a health matter into a political issue worthy of grassroots activism.
All three major presidential candidates support a bill to give the Food and Drug Administration regulatory control over tobacco products. The measure awaits a House vote.
The guide asked candidates to mark “yes” or “no” on three questions on whether they would fully fund early cancer detection programs, increase funding for cancer research, and increase tobacco taxes. Clinton and Obama checked “yes” on all three.
McCain left the boxes blank and said he would require health plans to cover colorectal screenings.
Raising the cigarette tax to $1 per pack would generate $7 billion per year, Smith said, enough to fully fund breast and cervical cancer early detection programs and a nationwide screening program for colorectal cancer.
Click the play button below to hear Smith talk about why he "loves" the tobacco tax.
Tobacco companies strongly oppose any rate hikes, saying adult smokers are already taxed enough.
“There’s plenty of money already being collected,” said Reynolds American spokesman John Singleton.
A Philip Morris USA spokesman said taxes are “less effective at achieving (health) objectives.”
“We continue to believe funding any federal program from a revenue source that is declining doesn’t make much sense,” spokesman Bill Phelps said, referring to a decreasing U.S. smoking population.
The “Fight Back Express” bus will stop in 48 states between now and Election Day, holding local events to highlight the role voters can play in raising tobacco as an campaign issue. To see when it will be in your town, click here.
In the voter guide, to be made available online this week, Republican Sen. John McCain says he “does not propose to increase tobacco taxes.”
Democratic Sens. Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama both support increasing the federal tobacco tax, now 39 cents-a-pack on cigarettes.
“It’s not enough just to promise,” said American Cancer Society lobbyist Daniel E. Smith. “We’re going to use that as a guide, so we get people to think when they go into the voting booth, this is a voting issue.”
Click the play button below to hear Smith talk about the 2008 guide.
Seventy-three percent of voters support increasing taxes on tobacco, according to poll results released Friday by the American Cancer Society. Tobacco has been linked to nearly a third of cancer cases.
The poll found 87 percent support creating a new cancer fund, rather than funding various cancer projects piecemeal as they are now. The survey of 1,015 registered voters was conducted by Lake Research April 18-25 and has a margin of error of plus or minus 3.1 percentage points.
The voter guide, poll and a six-month nationwide “Fight Back Express” bus tour show the measures health advocates are taking to turn what has traditionally been a health matter into a political issue worthy of grassroots activism.
All three major presidential candidates support a bill to give the Food and Drug Administration regulatory control over tobacco products. The measure awaits a House vote.
The guide asked candidates to mark “yes” or “no” on three questions on whether they would fully fund early cancer detection programs, increase funding for cancer research, and increase tobacco taxes. Clinton and Obama checked “yes” on all three.
McCain left the boxes blank and said he would require health plans to cover colorectal screenings.
Raising the cigarette tax to $1 per pack would generate $7 billion per year, Smith said, enough to fully fund breast and cervical cancer early detection programs and a nationwide screening program for colorectal cancer.
Click the play button below to hear Smith talk about why he "loves" the tobacco tax.
Tobacco companies strongly oppose any rate hikes, saying adult smokers are already taxed enough.
“There’s plenty of money already being collected,” said Reynolds American spokesman John Singleton.
A Philip Morris USA spokesman said taxes are “less effective at achieving (health) objectives.”
“We continue to believe funding any federal program from a revenue source that is declining doesn’t make much sense,” spokesman Bill Phelps said, referring to a decreasing U.S. smoking population.
The “Fight Back Express” bus will stop in 48 states between now and Election Day, holding local events to highlight the role voters can play in raising tobacco as an campaign issue. To see when it will be in your town, click here.