From: Joe@smokefree.org
Date: Mon, 11/06/06
Former US Surgeon General David Satcher has released the following statement
about Proposition 86.
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Press Release Source: BlacksforProp86.org
Former US Surgeon General David Satcher Supports Prop 86; Strikes Back at Big
Tobacco
Saturday November 4, 7:07 pm ET
SAN FRANCISCO--(BUSINESS WIRE)--In a strike back at the tobacco industry, former
US Surgeon General David Satcher, MD, Ph.D. joined together today with
BlacksforProp86.org and put his full support behind Proposition 86, the tobacco
tax. Recent tobacco industry funded "No on 86" political ads try to create the
false impression that the industry has the broad support of African American
physicians and community leaders.
"Today we are giving notice to Big Tobacco. For too long, tobacco companies have
exploited African Americans. During my time as US Surgeon General and in over 35
years as a family physician, I have seen first hand the impact of cigarette
smoking and the predatory marketing of tobacco companies on the African American
community. We have lost too many of our parents, our grandparents, and our loved
ones to the legacy of tobacco."
Satcher continued, "We must ensure that today's children do not suffer their
fate. For this reason I am pleased to join with BlacksforProp86.org, the
American Cancer Society, the National NAACP, and the California Medical
Association among others, in supporting Proposition 86. This initiative will
prevent 700,000 children from becoming adult smokers, and prevent 300,000
unnecessary deaths caused by smoking, in addition to providing vital resources
for health care programs. I urge all Californians to Vote Yes on Prop 86".
African Americans will benefit from the passage of Proposition 86 through both
the decline in smoking attributed to the increased cost of cigarettes and the
money raised by the tax for health programs.
Ayanna Kiburi, Director of the National African American Tobacco Education
Network at the Health Education Council stated, "African Americans have the
highest smoking rate of any racial and ethnic group in California and these
numbers are rising".(1) One in five African Americans is a smoker and the rates
of African American high school students and African American women who smoke is
increasing.(2) Of these smokers three out of four smoke menthol cigarettes,
which may put them at greater risk of smoking-related health problems because
menthol may facilitate the absorption of the harmful chemicals in cigarette
smoke.(3)
Antoinette Yancey, MD, MPH, Co-Director of the Center to Eliminate Health
Disparities at the UCLA School of Public Health and active in policy advocacy
with the Association of Black Women Physicians, said, "The recent political ad,
'Dr. White' from the No on 86 campaign, does not represent the voice of black
women physicians or the medical community. It is just yet another example of Big
Tobacco and their supporters twisting the truth to protect their profits.
Proposition 86 is our best opportunity in a decade to support essential health
programs and keep tobacco companies from addicting the next generation of
children. African American physicians know Californians have a clear choice on
November 7 - save lives or protect tobacco profits."
(1) California Department of Health Services, Tobacco Control Section, Tobacco
Smoking Prevalence, 2006.
http://www.dhs.ca.gov/tobacco/documents/pubs/AdultSmoking06.pdf
(2) Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Tobacco Use Among U.S.
Racial/Ethnic Minority Groups: A Report of the Surgeon General--United States,
1998. California Department of Health Services, Tobacco Control Section, Smoking
Prevalence Among California Adult Females by Race/Ethnicity, 1990-2005.
http://www.dhs.ca.gov/tobacco/documents/press/PR-October-2006.pdf
(3) Ibid.
Contact:
BlacksForProp86.org
c/o The URSA Institute
Carol O. McGruder, 510-701-5561
cmcgruder@usa.net
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