Fund tobacco prevention programs

The Iowa Public Health Association urges the Iowa Legislature to invest a portion of the $71 million installment in keeping with the intent of the 1998 Master Settlement Agreement. The MSA settled lawsuits that sought billions of dollars in states' costs associated with treating smoking-related illnesses. It also created new restrictions, including limits on the advertising, marketing and promotion of cigarettes, prohibited tobacco ads targeting youth and made available millions of tobacco company internal documents.

We call upon the Legislature to invest and equip the Iowa Department of Public Health's Division of Tobacco Use Prevention and Control to reduce tobacco use at the CDC-recommended level of $30.1 million for Iowa. For fiscal 2014, the division gets $5.1 million in state appropriations, the first increase in funding since FY 2009, but a mere 17 percent of the CDC recommendation to achieve the following:

l Adopt clean indoor air legislation prohibiting tobacco use in indoor public and private workplaces (i.e., close the casino loophole in Iowa's Smokefree Act).

l Increase tobacco product excise taxes to promote cessation and keep kids from starting.

l Fund and implement mass media campaigns.

l Proactive telephone cessation support (Quitline Iowa).

l Reduce or eliminate co-payments for effective cessation therapies and reminder systems for health care providers.

l Mobilize communities to identify and reduce the commercial availability of tobacco products to youth.

Iowa is receiving this money because of tobacco-related death and disease; its intent is to reduce the harm of this deadly product. Spend it right.

Barbara Chadwick

President Elect,

Iowa Public Health Association