ACS CAN Applauds Action on Lifesaving Tobacco Prevention Measure

TRENTON, NJ –December 15, 2017 – Governor Chris Christie has signed a bill into law (A3338) that will dedicate one percent, nearly $7 million, of cigarette and tobacco tax dollars, to the New Jersey tobacco control program, which supports those trying to quit smoking and helps others to never start. This action followed Governor Christie’s conditional veto of an earlier version of the bill. The conditional veto simply sent the legislation back to the Assembly and the Senate with a later date of implementation. The Assembly and the Senate concurred with the conditional veto. The new date of implementation will be July 1, 2018.

American Cancer Society Cancer Action Network (ACS CAN), New Jersey Government Relations Director Brian Shott released the following statement:

“This new law will work to break the cycle of tobacco addiction in New Jersey and help save lives. Tobacco use remains the single largest preventable cause of death in the United States. It is projected that this year over 51,000 New Jerseyans will be diagnosed with cancer and nearly 16,000 in our state will die due to this disease. We commend the legislature, particularly Senator Brian Stack and Assemblyman Tim Eustace, for their leadership on this issue.  We also thank Governor Christie for his action on this new law and look forward to working with Governor-elect Phil Murphy in 2018 to implement this, knowing he went on record with ACS CAN as supporting the need for this important funding during his campaign.”

ACS CAN, the nonprofit, nonpartisan advocacy affiliate of the American Cancer Society, supports evidence-based policy and legislative solutions designed to eliminate cancer as a major health problem. ACS CAN works to encourage elected officials and candidates to make cancer a top national priority. ACS CAN gives ordinary people extraordinary power to fight cancer with the training and tools they need to make their voices heard. For more information, visit www.acscan.org.

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