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2019 ACS CAN Legislative Priorities

Defeating cancer is as much a matter of public policy as scientific discovery. Lawmakers play a critical role in determining how much progress we make in the fight against cancer. ACS CAN supports proven legislative measures that help save lives in support of our mission to end cancer as a major public health problem.


ACS CAN Recommends Evidence-Based Tobacco Control Strategies

  • Restore $17M recurring funding for state-wide and local tobacco prevention programs to prevent children from using tobacco and e-cigarettes.

  • Increase to $3M recurring funding for tobacco cessation programs to help adults quit tobacco.

  • Support an increase in the cigarette tax by at least $1.00 per pack, along with an equivalent increase on other tobacco (non-cigarette) products, generating over $453 million a year in state funds. Significant increases in tobacco excise tax significantly reduces the risk of children from starting tobacco and helps those who want to quit.

  • Protect children, nonsmokers, and employees from the deadly effects of secondhand smoke by preserving and expanding our smoke-free and tobacco-free laws.


ACS CAN Supports Access to Meaningful, Affordable Health Care Coverage

  • Advocate to increase the number of people in North Carolina with affordable access to quality healthcare by closing the health insurance coverage gap which will provide health care for a significant number of very low-income, adults without dependent children who are not eligible for any state or federal health care assistance.

  • Preserve $1.5 million recurring state funding for the North Carolina Breast and Cervical Cancer Control Program, which provides preventive cancer screenings for women who are uninsured or underinsured, and advocate to eliminate barriers for medical treatment for uninsured and underinsured women diagnosed with breast and cervical cancer.

  • Advocate for legislation that protects patients’ access to prescription drugs by making sure that step therapy protocols provide for timely appeals and necessary exemptions to ensure patients are not denied lifesaving medical treatments.

  • Advocate for legislation to ensure patient protections to affordable, accessible, quality health insurance are preserved and defeat attempts to discriminate against patients with preexisting health conditions.