California Tobacco Tax Initiative Qualifies for November 2006 Ballot.

SACRAMENTO, Calif. -- The California Secretary of State announced today that the Tobacco Tax Act of 2006 has officially qualified for the statewide November 2006 ballot.

The initiative, likely to be assigned a proposition number by mid-July, would raise the state's tobacco tax by $2.60 per pack of cigarettes. The approximate $2 billion in annual expected revenue would strengthen and expand the reach of existing tobacco use prevention programs. It will also fund health insurance for children and provide needed resources for other health care priorities including disease prevention, medical research, and emergency room care. If passed by voters on November 7, 2006, the Tobacco Tax Act of 2006 would go into effect as of January 1, 2007.

"This initiative, without a doubt, is the best way to combat the detrimental effects smoking is having on our health care system. Now we can aggressively move forward to educate the rest of California's voters about how this measure is the most effective approach to preventing our kids from starting to smoke, helping those who want to quit and providing some needed funding for critical health care priorities," said Charlie Smith, Chair of the Coalition for a Healthy California and Chair, American Cancer Society, Los Angeles Region.

"More than a million Californians have already expressed support for this important measure by helping to put it on the ballot. Californians can also have confidence that funds will go exactly as they intend. The initiative includes strict safeguards and audits. No new bureaucracies or other taxes are created by the initiative and money raised cannot be raided by the Legislature or any other entity, or used for any other purposes," said Smith.

"Each year, nearly 50,000 California kids become new daily smokers," said Wendy Lazarus, Founder of The Children's Partnership. "Voting for a tobacco tax increase is an excellent opportunity for Californians to directly impact these statistics and protect our children from the number one cause of preventable death and disease. The additional revenues generated will also ensure that California's uninsured children have access to affordable health insurance."

"We fully expect tobacco companies to aggressively oppose this measure for the same reason California's health care community and dozens of other community groups support it -- it will greatly reduce their client base and bottom line," said Lazarus.

The Coalition for a Healthy California includes California's major health care advocates: the American Cancer Society, American Lung Association of California, American Heart Association, the Children's Partnership, the California Chapter of the American College of Emergency Physicians, California Emergency Nurses Association, California Hospital Association, PICO California, Children Now, California Primary Care Association, Campaign for Tobacco Free Kids, Association of California Nurse Leaders, Emergency and Acute Care Medical Corporation, and many others.