[Pacg] Call your Iowa Legislator about the cigarette tax TODAY

[Carolina 1961]

*Please call your legislators ASAP and ask them to support the $1 increase
in the cigarette tax. The bill passed out of committee in both the Senate
and House. The phone number for your legislators is at the bottom of this
message from the Iowa Public Health Association.
*

*Thanks!
*

*Alta Price
altaprice at yahoo.com*

*From:* Iowa Public Health Association
[mailto:iowapha at gmail.com<iowapha at gmail.com>]

*Sent:* Monday, February 26, 2007 1:12 PM
*To:* iowapha at gmail.com
*Subject:* Re: Action Alert - Tobacco Tax

Dear Iowa Public Health Association Colleague,

As you know from the media and other legislative tracking resources, the
Iowa State Legislature is poised for imminent action on the raising the
tobacco tax by $1.  The issue has passed out of both the Senate and House
Ways & Means Committees (HF 346 and SF 128) and is eligible for debate on
the floor.  *NOW is the time for you to contact your Representative and
Senator to voice support for these files.*

The Facts:

   - Tobacco use kills an estimated 12 Iowans everyday – 4,500 annually
   - 20% of Iowa high school students and 20% of Iowa adults currently
   smoke.
   - Annual health care costs in Iowa directly related to smoking total
   $1 billion.
   - Annual smoking related costs to Iowa's Medicaid program total $301
   million.
   - Iowa's current cigarette tax only brought in $86.9 million in 2004.

The Solution:  *Increase Iowa's cigarette tax by $1 per pack*



The Result:

   - Reduce youth smoking by 19%.
   - Reduce adult smoking by 4%.
   - 38,600 Iowa kids alive today will not become smokers.
   - 12,300 Iowa kids alive today will be saved from a smoking-caused
   death.
   - 20,200 Iowa adults who are current smokers will quit.


Common Myths about Increasing Iowa's Tobacco Tax:


Tobacco users will just go across state lines to buy their tobacco.

*Cross-border *purchases account for only about one percent of
U.S.cigarette purchases.

An increase is unfair to smokers and low income Iowans.

Lower-income families suffer disproportionately from tobacco related disease
and death.

8 out of 10 smokers want to quit.

Low income smokers are 4 times as likely to quit due to price increases.

Tax increases don't reduce smoking.

Every state that has significantly increased its tax has seen decrease in
tobacco use.


*Increasing Iowa's tobacco tax is good public health policy.  It will keep
kids from starting to use tobacco, help current users quit, and increase
state revenues*

Call your legislators today* !  *Ask them to support a $1 increase in Iowa's
cigarette tax and a corresponding increase on other tobacco products

Your Representative can be reached at: *515-281-3221*

Your Senator can be reached at:* 515-281-3371*

To find out who your legislators are, go to:
http://www.legis.state.ia.us/FindLeg/
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