[C-U Smokefree] Fw: Protect our kids by ensuring level funding of our tobacco prevention program

[George R. Carlisle, Jr.]

This is what I intended to send but had address wrong-

--GRC---
----- Original Message -----
From: <carlisle at soltec.net>
To: <carlisle at soltec.net>
Sent: Tuesday, May 04, 2004 11:36 AM
Subject: Protect our kids by ensuring level funding of our tobacco
prevention program


From: George R., Jr. Carlisle, 406 East Green Street, Urbana, IL 61802-3353
RE: Protect our kids by ensuring level funding of our tobacco prevention
program

The Honorable Rod Blagojevich
Springfield, IL 62706


Dear Governor Blagojevich,

We have a problem with children getting started smoking before they
are of legal age. I see many across the street from Urbana High
School, puffing away, before or after school or on lunch break.
Cigarette butts and packs litter the park area.

We neeed to increase the taxes on cigarettes and on other forms of
tobacco, such as smokeless and pipe tobacco, to better fund
prevention. The taxes on cigarettes are not high enough as long
as kids find a way to buy them. We need to be sure the Tobacco
Settlement money is used for the purposes of prevention of
smoking.

If all the social costs were built into a pack of cigarettes--
medical costs and lost productivity, etc.-- cigarettes would have
to sell for about $11.35 per pack. Who would be able to afford
them then?

But we do need to make it more and more difficult and expensive for
young people to take up the habit.

If no one got started smoking, the tobacco industry would be gone
within a generation.

I am writing today to urge you to continue our essential tobacco
control programs without any cuts.

This year, almost 35,000 of Illinois' kids will become regular, daily
smokers. One in three of these children will die prematurely from
smoking-caused disease.

Illinois' tobacco prevention program is essential to protecting our kids
from the dangers of this lethal product. If funding is cut or
delayed as in past years, it will further undermine the already
underfunded tobacco prevention program. The vast majority of the
Master Settlement Agreement funds are not being used to address
the toll of tobacco problems -- we can't afford to divert more
money away from addressing this important public health issue.
Securing the future of this program is critical to the health and
safety of our kids.

Not only does tobacco prevention save lives - it will save money.
Studies have shown that every $1 spent on tobacco prevention can
save up to $3 in health care costs. Smoking-caused health care
costs in Illinois total more than $3.2 billion annually,
including $1.22 billion in Medicaid expenditures.

Please protect our kids from the dangers of smoking by making sure
tobacco settlement funds are allocated to tobacco prevention
programs as they were intended.

Thank you for your time and consideration. I look forward to receiving
your response.


Sincerely,

George R., Jr. Carlisle
406 East Green Street
Urbana, IL 61802