HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES 

USE OF REVENUES GENERATED BY TOBACCO LEGISLATION FOR TOBACCO CONTROL AND PREVENTION AND RELATED PROGRAMS

WHEREAS, The United States Congress has recently engaged in crafting legislation which would broadly aim to regulate marketing, advertising, sale and distribution practices by the tobacco industry, specifically with respect to tobacco use by minors; and

WHEREAS, a key component of these legislative debates has been a proposal to generate revenue through a tax increase on the per pack price of cigarettes, which could generate as much as $516 billion over five years; and

WHEREAS, various proposals for uses of funds generated by such legislation have been offered; and

WHEREAS, it is both logical and imperative that any funds generated by tobacco legislation be directed toward programs and initiatives which specifically address the heavy toll that tobacco use has taken on the health of individuals, and on the public health resources of state and local governments; and

WHEREAS, any successful effort, legislative or otherwise, to reduce tobacco use among adolescents and other populations must include research into the causes and addictive nature of tobacco use, and further, on successful behavior modification programs;

NOW THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED that the United States Conference of Mayors strongly urges Congress and States to pass legislation in which revenues generated by a tax increase in the per-pack price of cigarettes be used specifically for the following activities:

• chronic disease prevention and control;
• medical research, particularly research related to the addictive and other effects of tobacco on the human body;
• child health programs, particularly those which emphasize and reinforce healthy behaviors which will ultimately encourage children to refrain from smoking; and
• in general, tobacco control and prevention programs.