5/14/09: Do not cut state funding of NJ's Tobacco Control Program
Click here to read the May 8, 2009 front page Star Ledger article on why New Jersey needs to fund cessation centers, quoting GASP President Fred. M. Jacobs, MD, JD.
Click here to read the May 5, 2009 Star Ledger Op-Ed, by GASP President Fred M. Jacobs, MD, JD. It details why New Jersey should not cut funding for the state's Comprehensive Tobacco Control Program, and the need for increased smoking cessation services due to new federal tobacco tax increases and other economic and health factors.
Click here to read the April 27, 2009 Harvard School of Public Health press release, on their recent study which found that:
- Smoking is the leading preventable risk factor for premature mortality in the United States.
- Smoking is responsible for 467,000 premature deaths each year.
- Smoking was the leading cause of death in men, killing an estimated 248,000 annually, or 21 percent of all adult male deaths.
Click here to read the complete Harvard study.
Click here to read the May 14, 2009 LIST mailing sent to inform legislators on the key points of the above articles and publications.
Click here to read the March 25, 2009 Star Ledger article, quoting GASP President Fred M. Jacobs, MD, JD, on the concern with proposed New Jersey budget cuts to the State's Comprehensive Tobacco Control Program.
PLEASE TAKE ACTION: Contact state leadership ASAP!
New Jersey Governor Corzine's preliminary budget, released in January 2009, proposes a budget cut to NJ's state-funded Comprehensive Tobacco Control Program (CTCP). CTCP's budget has been decimated by more than 70% since its inception (original funding was $30 million), resulting in drastic reductions in CTCP functions and services. Last year, the budget cut CTCP's funding by $2.4 million, reducing CTCP's budget from $11 million to $8.6 million. The Centers for Disease Control recommends $119 million/year in funding for NJ's CTCP. CTCP save lives. It is operating on less than a shoe-string budget. Any further budget cuts to CTCP will result in less programs and services to help those in need.
Contact Governor Jon Corzine, the Chairs of the Senate and Assembly Budget Committees, Senator Barbara Buono and Assemblyman Louis Greenwald, and the legislative leadership in the Senate and Assembly, that the CTCP budget should not be cut, but rather restored to $11 million. Click here for a sample letter that you can email or mail. Please cc info@njgasp.org if you send an email. Their contact information:
- Honorable Jon Corzine, Office of the Governor, PO Box 001, State House, Trenton, NJ 08625; phone 609-292-6000; email go to www.nj.gov/governor/govmail.html
- Senator Barbara Buono, 2 Lincoln Highway, Suite 401, Edison, NJ 08820; phone 732-205-1372; fax 732-205-1375; email SenBuono@njleg.org
- Assemblyman Louis D. Greenwald, 1103 Laurel Oak Road, Suite 142, Voorhees, NJ 08043; phone 856-435-1247; fax 856-435-3849; email AsmGreenwald@njleg.org
- Senate President Richard J. Codey, 449 Mount Pleasant Avenue, W. Orange, NJ 07052; phone 973-731-6770; fax 973-731-0647; email SenCodey@njleg.org
- Assembly Speaker Joseph J. Roberts, Brooklawn Shopping Plaza, Route 130 and Browning Road, Brooklawn, NJ 08030; phone 856-742-7600; fax 856-742-1831; email AsmRoberts@njleg.org
When calling or writing to the Governor and Legislators, please request:
PRIORITY:
- At a minimum, to restore funding at 11 million for the State Comprehensive Tobacco Control Program.
- Consider a 5-year plan to reach the Centers for Disease Control funding recommendation of $119 million.
- Support the CTCP's smoking cessation programs, which help to reduce state healthcare costs in the long run.
- Increase the licensing fees and taxes to sell tobacco. Click here for GASP's brief paper on how increasing NJ's cigarette licensing fees could generate over $16 million in state revenue and could create a state licensing fee structure which would raise revenue from other tobacco products.
Last update: 4/11/11