SFMS Champions Tobacco Regulation at August Lobby Day September 2, 2015 Advocacy, SFMS Member John Maa, Renee Fogelberg, Laura Davies, Save Lives California, SFMS advocacy, tobacco, tobacco tax 0 On August 26, 2015, three SFMS physician members joined over a hundred health care workers, and patient advocates at a daylong rally at the Capitol in Sacramento in support of the six tobacco control bills heard during the Special Extraordinary Session on Healthcare 2015 convened by Governor Brown. Local physicians Drs. Laura Davies, Renee Fogelberg, and John Maa represented SFMS at the press conference and legislative meetings coordinated by the Save Lives California. Along with several UCSF medical students, they spoke to Members of the Legislature and their staff about the package of bills to regulate electronic cigarettes, raise the legal age to buy cigarettes to 21 years old, and create new tobacco taxes. SFMS and CMA have endorsed all six bills. The bills had previously won support from the Senate health committee, and with the success of the Legislative Day are swiftly moving through the Senate and Assembly before the 2015 legislative session concludes in mid-September. SB X2-5 would set up statewide rules for e-cigarettes similar to those governing tobacco cigarettes, including that they be labeled accurately and not be marketed to children. SB X2-6 would close loopholes in smoke-free workplace laws by prohibiting smoking in certain environments such as covered parking lots, gaming clubs, bars, and tobacco shops. SB X2-7 would raise the minimum legal age to purchase and consume tobacco products from 18 to 21. SBX2-8 would extend funding eligibility for tobacco education programs in school districts and require all schools to be tobacco free. SB X2-9 would authorize local jurisdictions to impose a tax on the distribution of cigarettes and other “tobacco products.” SB X2-10 would establish an annual Board of Equalization tobacco licensing fee program, which is estimated to raise $12 million. A separate measure first introduced by Senator Richard Pan at the press conference seeks to impose a $2-per-pack tax hike on cigarettes and is backed by Save Lives California. The tax is projected to raise $1.1 to $1.4 billion annually. The revenues would help support state health care and smoking prevention entities including the Department of Health Care Services to fund Medi-Cal, the Department of Education to assist school programs for tobacco education, and the University of California to support physician training and its Tobacco-Related Disease Research Program. The coalition has also submitted a ballot initiative for the tax increase in the event that the Legislature fails to institute the tax, and will begin collecting signatures if this occurs. A Field Poll released the day of the press conference revealed that 67% of California voters would support the $2 tobacco tax. Comments are closed.
