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Bill raises the age of sale of tobacco products to 21

INDIANAPOLIS, Ind. – March 21, 2017 – Today, the State Senate unanimously approved House Bill 1278, which directs the Indiana State Department of Health to identify and address barriers to cervical cancer screening and treatment. The bill now moves to Gov. Eric Holcomb’s desk for further consideration. In response,

Increasing the legal age of tobacco sales from 18 to 21 is an important step to reduce and eventually eliminate the toll of tobacco because an estimated 95 percent of smokers start before age 21.

The Oregon Senate passed Senate Bill 754 to raise the state's age of sale for all tobacco products to 21. The bill now heads to the House, moving Oregon closer to being the third state to raise the tobacco sales age to 21 statewide.

Leaders from the Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids, the American Lung Association, the American Heart Association, the American Cancer Society Cancer Action Network, the March of Dimes and the American Academy of Pediatrics, today congratulated Senate Health and Welfare committee members for their unanimously voting “yes” on legislation aimed at saving lives and money by reducing tobacco use in the state.

The president introduced a proposed FY 2018 budget today that includes deep cuts to medical research. If approved by Congress, the cuts would represent 19 percent of the National Institutes of Health’s (NIH) total budget and would likely result in a $1 billion cut to the National Cancer Institute (NCI).

Patients, doctors and several of the nation’s leading organizations that advocate for better health care for chronic disease patients joined today to express significant concerns about the American Health Care Act (AHCA), which is currently being debated in the U.S. House of Representatives.