In a May 27 article, L.A. Times columnist Michael Hiltzik sided with the tobacco companies, urging Californian voters to reject Proposition 29, a measure to raise state cigarette taxes by $1 per pack, because it won’t fix our roads or schools. Amazingly, opponents also call Prop 29′s goal to boost cancer research in California a “narrow purpose.” Today, Kristiina Vuori, M.D., Ph.D., Sanford-Burnham’s president and director of our NCI-designated Cancer Center, and Sherry Lansing, chairman of the University of California Board of Regents and co-founder of Stand Up to Cancer, respond in the L.A. Times:
The tobacco industry’s campaign against Proposition 29 is a case study for how corporations attack generally good initiatives that are harmful to their business interests, especially by diverting the discussion away from the initiative’s true purpose. This classic “red herring” strategy strives to confuse voters, and it’s unfortunate that The Times’ editorial board (which urged a “no” vote on Proposition 29 in its April 27 endorsement) and respected columnist Michael Hiltzik have fallen into this trap.
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Those on the anti-Proposition 29 side say the initiative will not do anything to solve our state’s budget woes and should therefore be rejected. They are correct that Proposition 29 fails to provide funding for schools, roads or affordable housing. It doesn’t solve global warming or any number of other issues, either. That’s because Proposition 29 was never intended to solve these problems. Instead, it is squarely focused on solving one of the most life-threatening problems Californians face: cancer.
Cancer is a leading cause of death in our state, killing 155 Californians every day. Smoking is directly responsible for 30% of these deaths and many more through secondhand smoke. Amazingly, the group known as Californians Against Out-of-Control Taxes and Spending (backed by Philip Morris USA and the R.J. Reynolds Tobacco Co.) calls Proposition 29’s mandate to support cancer research a “narrow purpose.” We suspect that the one in two Californians who will be diagnosed with cancer at some point in their lives consider their fight to beat cancer more than just a “narrow purpose.” It is literally a matter of life and death, and Proposition 29 gives us a chance to tilt the balance in favor of life.
Read the full article: Cigarette taxes: The anti-Prop. 29 smokescreen (L.A. Times, June 1)
Click here to meet a few cancer researchers whose life-saving work could receive a boost if Prop 29 passes.