Smoking Kills.
Public health experts agree: Taxing tobacco will save lives.
The Tobacco Control Section of the California Department
of Health Services has issued an analysis of Proposition 86
titled “Economic and Health Effects of a State Cigarette Excise
Tax Increase in California.”
The California Department of Health Services has
determined that:
Proposition 86 Will Save Lives:
• Prevent nearly 180,000 deaths due to smoking among
California kids now under the age of 17.
• Prevent approximately 120,000 additional deaths due to
smoking among current California adult smokers who quit
smoking.
Proposition 86 Will Reduce and Prevent Smoking:
• The tax increase alone would prevent more than 700,000 kids
now under the age of 17 from becoming adult smokers.
• 120,000 high school students and 30,000 middle school
students would either quit or not start smoking.
• More than half a million smokers in California would quit
smoking.
• Californians would consume 312 million fewer packs of
cigarettes each year.
Proposition 86 Saves Money:
• Nearly $16.5 billion saved in healthcare costs.
• Increases state revenue by over $2.2 billion per year.
[See the report for yourself at www.yesprop86.com.]
That’s why Proposition 86 is supported by a broad coalition,
including:
- American Cancer Society
- American Heart Association
- American Lung Association of California
- American Academy of Pediatrics/California Chapter
- The Children’s Partnership
- American College of Emergency Physicians, California Chapter California Emergency Nurses Association
- Association of California Nurse Leaders
- California Hospital Association
- League of United Latin American Citizens
- California Black Health Network
- Children Now
- California Primary Care Association
- Tobacco-Free Kids Action Fund
- Los Angeles Chamber of Commerce
The initiative specifically raises the tax on a pack of cigarettes
by $2.60 to help fund some of California’s critical healthcare
needs, including emergency care services; health insurance for
children; nursing education; tobacco use prevention programs;
enforcement of tobacco-related laws; and research, prevention,
and treatment of serious health problems, including cancers,
heart diseases, stroke, asthma, and obesity.
Proposition 86 includes tough financial safeguards,
including annual detailed public reporting of the use of tax
funds, independent audits, limits on administrative costs, and a
strict prohibition against the Legislature raiding the trust funds
for any other government program. This means the money will
go exactly where voters intend.
This measure will save lives. With smoking-related illnesses
driving up our healthcare costs and overloading our healthcare
system, Proposition 86 will help discourage smoking and ease
some of the problems caused by preventable, smoking-related
illnesses.
SAVE LIVES. TAX TOBACCO. VOTE YES ON
PROPOSITION 86.
CAROLYN RHEE, Chair
American Cancer Society, California Division
P.K. SHAH, M.D., President
American Heart Association, Western States Affiliate
TIMOTHY A. MORRIS, M.D.
Board Member
American Lung Association of California
REBUTTAL TO ARGUMENT IN FAVOR
OF PROPOSITION 86 |
Helping people stop smoking and keeping kids from
starting is important. Unfortunately, less than 10% of the
$2.1 billion in new tax money goes to programs that help
smokers quit or keep kids from starting. Here’s what’s really
in the initiative:
• Huge hospital corporations are spending millions
promoting Prop. 86 because they will pocket hundreds
of millions of dollars every year. HMOs will also get
millions of dollars each year.
• Almost 40% of the $2.1 billion in new tax money
from Prop. 86 goes to hospitals—THAT’S OVER
$800 MILLION A YEAR THAT HAS VIRTUALLY
NOTHING TO DO WITH STOPPING SMOKING!
• The $2.1 billion comes from an unfair $2.60 tax increase
on each pack of cigarettes—an increase of almost 300%.
Here’s what Prop. 86 is really all about:
• Section 9 gives hospitals an exemption to antitrust laws.
• There’s nothing in Prop. 86 that limits what hospitals can
charge taxpayers for emergency services for the uninsured. This amounts to an open taxpayer checkbook!
• There are no guarantees on how the money will be
spent.
• Under California law approved by voters (Proposition
98), approximately 40% of any new taxes are dedicated
to our schools. The huge hospital corporations don’t want
to share with our schools and kids, so they included a
CONSTITUTIONAL EXEMPTION (Section 15) so that
NONE of these funds will go to our schools.
Check it out for yourself: www.86facts.org.
Prop. 86 is really about special interests amending our
Constitution for their benefit.
No on 86.
MONICA WEISBRICH, RN
Operating Room Nurse
JAIME ROJAS, President
California Hispanic Chambers of Commerce
MALCOLM SIMPSON
Public School Teacher |
VOTE “NO” ON PROPOSITION 86—STOP THE $2.1
BILLION TAX HIKE!
We all want to improve our healthcare system, but
Proposition 86 is the wrong solution. Prop. 86 is an unfair tax
increase supported by special interests who are amending our
Constitution to benefit themselves.
Prop. 86’s proponents say it’s about encouraging people not
to smoke, but it isn’t. It’s really a money grab by huge hospital
corporations who will reap hundreds of millions of taxpayer
dollars each year!
• Less than 10% of the tax revenues go toward helping
smokers quit or keeping kids from starting.
• The largest share—almost 40%—goes to hospitals, many
of which are funding the campaign for the new tax.
• HMOs will pocket millions from Prop. 86.
WHY ARE HUGE HOSPITAL CORPORATIONS
SPENDING MILLIONS TO PASS PROP. 86?
• Hospitals wrote Prop. 86 to give themselves an exemption
to antitrust laws, giving them legal protection to divvy up
and limit many medical services, and then raise prices without worrying about competition.
• Prop. 86 puts no limits on what hospitals can bill
taxpayers for emergency services for the uninsured. Why
should hospitals be allowed to charge taxpayers several
times what they charge insurance companies for the same
treatment?
PROP. 86: ANOTHER LOTTERY MESS
Like the state lottery, it will be nearly impossible for voters
to know how the new taxes will be spent. Prop. 86 lists program
after state program that gets a cut of the estimated $2.1 billion
in new tax revenue.
PROP. 86: NO ACCOUNTABILITY TO TAXPAYERS
Prop. 86 throws millions of dollars at new bureaucratic
state programs without adequate legislative or governmental oversight. There are NO GUARANTEES how the money will
actually be spent or assurances the money won’t be wasted.
PROP. 86: INCREASES OUR DEFICIT
Prop. 86 contains 38 pages of spending mandates. But
experts agree that the amount of money raised by this tobacco
tax will decline over time. Declining revenues and demands to
fund Prop. 86’s programs will only worsen our deficit. Other
important programs like education, transportation, and law
enforcement might have to be cut, or taxes raised further.
PROP. 86: INCREASES CRIME
Law enforcement groups oppose Prop. 86 because it will
increase crime and smuggling. Stolen and smuggled cigarettes
are already a big source of money for gangs and organized
crime. If Prop. 86 passes, a single truckload of stolen cigarettes
could be worth over $2 million to criminals.
PROP. 86: UNFAIR
Prop. 86 taxes smokers to pay for programs that have nothing
to do with smoking, like obesity programs. Less than 10% of
the tax revenues go toward helping smokers quit or keeping
kids from starting.
PROP. 86: LOCKED INTO OUR CONSTITUTION
Proposition 86 amends our Constitution and statutes. When
problems and abuses are discovered, it will be nearly impossible
for the Governor or the Legislature to fix them. The Constitution
should not be changed for a special interest money-grab.
Please join health professionals, law enforcement, taxpayers,
and small businesses in voting NO on Proposition 86.
LARRY McCARTHY, President
California Taxpayers’ Association
JAMES G. KNIGHT, M.D., Past President
San Diego County Medical Society
STEVEN REMIGE, President
Association for Los Angeles Deputy Sheriffs
REBUTTAL TO ARGUMENT AGAINST
PROPOSITION 86 |
Make no mistake; big tobacco corporations are bankrolling
opposition to Prop. 86.
Raising cigarette taxes means fewer people will smoke—especially kids. That hurts tobacco company profits.
They’ve seen the report by the California Department
of Health Services which says that Prop. 86 will reduce the
number of cigarettes sold in California by 312 million packs each year.
The report also says that Prop. 86 will prevent 700,000 kids
from starting to smoke and save 300,000 lives.
Tobacco companies invest over $1 billion a year marketing
cigarettes in California. This is a market they won’t give up
without a fight.
When executives of the tobacco companies were called
before Congress and put under oath, incredibly, each and
every one of them lied by testifying that cigarettes are not
addictive.
They lied to Congress under oath and now they’re lying to
you.
Their arguments against Prop. 86 are outright distortions
and untruths. Read Prop. 86 for yourself. You’ll see that it includes
specific and tough financial safeguards, independent audits,
and strict limits on administrative costs. Funding is directed
to proven, successful public health programs.
Californians pay more than $8 billion each year in medical
costs due to smoking—that’s $700 per family per year—whether you smoke or not. The Department of Health Services
report confirms that Prop. 86 will help reduce those costs.
Big tobacco will do, say, and spend anything to defeat
Proposition 86. Don’t believe it.
Save Lives. Reduce Smoking.
Vote Yes on Proposition 86.
MILA GARCIA, R.N., Member
American Heart Association, Western States Affiliate
WILLIE GOFFNEY, M.D., FACS, President
American Cancer Society, California Division 2006–07
RICK DONALDSON, Ph.D., RCP, Chair
American Lung Association of California |
