Former US Surgeon General David Satcher Supports Prop 86; Strikes Back at Big Tobacco.

SAN FRANCISCO -- In a strike back at the tobacco industry, former US Surgeon General David Satcher, MD, Ph.D. joined together today with BlacksforProp86.org and put his full support behind Proposition 86, the tobacco tax. Recent tobacco industry funded "No on 86" political ads try to create the false impression that the industry has the broad support of African American physicians and community leaders.

"Today we are giving notice to Big Tobacco. For too long, tobacco companies have exploited African Americans. During my time as US Surgeon General and in over 35 years as a family physician, I have seen first hand the impact of cigarette smoking and the predatory marketing of tobacco companies on the African American community. We have lost too many of our parents, our grandparents, and our loved ones to the legacy of tobacco."

Satcher continued, "We must ensure that today's children do not suffer their fate. For this reason I am pleased to join with BlacksforProp86.org, the American Cancer Society, the National NAACP, and the California Medical Association among others, in supporting Proposition 86. This initiative will prevent 700,000 children from becoming adult smokers, and prevent 300,000 unnecessary deaths caused by smoking, in addition to providing vital resources for health care programs. I urge all Californians to Vote Yes on Prop 86".

African Americans will benefit from the passage of Proposition 86 through both the decline in smoking attributed to the increased cost of cigarettes and the money raised by the tax for health programs.

Ayanna Kiburi, Director of the National African American Tobacco Education Network at the Health Education Council stated, "African Americans have the highest smoking rate of any racial and ethnic group in California and these numbers are rising".1 One in five African Americans is a smoker and the rates of African American high school students and African American women who smoke is increasing.2 Of these smokers three out of four smoke menthol cigarettes, which may put them at greater risk of smoking-related health problems because menthol may facilitate the absorption of the harmful chemicals in cigarette smoke.3

Antoinette Yancey, MD, MPH, Co-Director of the Center to Eliminate Health Disparities at the UCLA School of Public Health and active in policy advocacy with the Association of Black Women Physicians, said, "The recent political ad, 'Dr. White' from the No on 86 campaign, does not represent the voice of black women physicians or the medical community. It is just yet another example of Big Tobacco and their supporters twisting the truth to protect their profits. Proposition 86 is our best opportunity in a decade to support essential health programs and keep tobacco companies from addicting the next generation of children. African American physicians know Californians have a clear choice on November 7 - save lives or protect tobacco profits."

1 California Department of Health Services, Tobacco Control Section, Tobacco Smoking Prevalence, 2006. http://www.dhs.ca.gov/tobacco/documents/pubs/AdultSmoking06.pdf

2 Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Tobacco Use Among U.S. Racial/Ethnic Minority Groups: A Report of the Surgeon GeneralCoUnited States, 1998. California Department of Health Services, Tobacco Control Section, Smoking Prevalence Among California Adult Females by Race/Ethnicity, 1990-2005. http://www.dhs.ca.gov/tobacco/documents/press/PR-October-2006.pdf

3 Ibid.