SACRAMENTO, CA - With the Assembly Health Committee set to take a historic vote on Senate Bill (SB) 793 (Hill D-San Mateo) to finally end the sale of all -flavored tobacco products this Tuesday, public health advocates believe the tobacco industry’s all-out lobbying and advertising effort full of lies and half-truths is attempting to confuse the fight for our kids’ lives.
As of Sunday afternoon, five key Assembly Health Committee members, including Chairman Wood have announced their vocal support as coauthors of SB 793. Public health and grassroots advocates are working the phones to dispel Big Tobacco’s lies and to urge Assembly members to publicly commit to protecting our kids and rejecting a menthol carve out allowing companies to continue to prey on communities of color.
Committed supporters of SB 793 include Chairman Wood, and Assembly members Bonta, Limon, McCarty, and Santiago. The remaining members are not yet publicly committed.
“I urge ALL Assembly Health Committee members to stand with California kids and all of our communities against Big Tobacco’s lies for profit," said American Cancer Society Cancer Action Network California Managing Director Jim Knox.
“Big Tobacco has been preying on, addicting, and profiting off of Black lives for generations,” said Knox. “They do it with slick marketing campaigns that trick kids into a lifetime addiction to minty-sweet menthol cigarettes and cigarillos, making addictive nicotine seem cool and taste like a treat.”
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About ACS CAN: The American Cancer Society Cancer Action Network (ACS CAN) is making cancer a top priority for public officials and candidates at the federal, state and local levels. ACS CAN empowers advocates across the country to make their voices heard and influence evidence-based public policy change as well as legislative and regulatory solutions that will reduce the cancer burden. As the American Cancer Society’s nonprofit, nonpartisan advocacy affiliate, ACS CAN is critical to the fight for a world without cancer. For more information, visit www.fightcancer.org.