Iowa Tobacco Prevention Alliance is dedicated to reducing tobacco use in Iowa and the death and disease associated with it.
The most effective way to reduce tobacco use is a three-pronged approach:
1 Protect people from secondhand smoke by passing smokefree policies.
2 Fully fund and implement a research-based tobacco control program to prevent kids from using tobacco products and to help those currently addicted to quit.
3 Regularly increase the price of tobacco products.
Secondhand Smoke
Secondhand smoke is a serious public health problem in Iowa, and there is no risk-free level of exposure to secondhand smoke. Everyone has the right to be protected from secondhand smoke in the home, in the workplace and in the community. Iowa's Smokefree Air Act is one of the most cost-effective public health measures that money can buy. Such policies not only protect nonsmokers from exposure to secondhand smoke, but also help people to stop smoking. This issue is one of health and is grounded in solid research and facts. To get the facts on secondhand smoke and learn the science and policy needed to protect Iowans from this health hazard, click here. Everyone has the right to breathe clean air.
The Facts
- Smoke-filled casinos have up to 50 times more cancer- causing particles in the air than highways and city streets clogged with diesel trucks in rush hour traffic. After going smokefree, indoor air pollution virtually disappears from these environments.
- Ventilation does not solve the problem. Casino workers even in a "well-ventilated" casino have cotinine (metabolized nicotine) levels 300-600% higher than employees in other smoking workplaces during a work shift.
- Making casinos 100% smokefree is the only way to completely protect both customers and workers from the dangers of secondhand smoke.
To learn more visit www.smokefreecasinos.org.
Click here if you believe casino workers should not have to choose between good paying jobs and their health.or more information...
Prevention and Cessation
Iowa Department of Public Health, Division of Tobacco Use Control & Prevention
The mission of the Division of Tobacco Use Prevention and Control is to establish a comprehensive partnership among state government, local communities, and the people of Iowa to foster a social and legal climate in which tobacco use becomes undesirable and unacceptable. To learn more about the IDPH Division of Tobacco Use Control & Prevention, click here.
The Division is structured to provide the components of a comprehensive tobacco control program as recommended by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC):
- Statewide programs
- Community-based and school-based interventions
- Counter marketing
- Cessation
- Enforcement
- Chronic disease programs
- Surveillance and evaluation
- Administration and management
The CDC recommends that Iowa spend a mininum of $19.3 million annually on tobacco control. In fiscal year 2008 (July 1, 2007 - June 30, 2008), Iowa is allocated $12.3 million, a significant increase from its fiscal year 2007 allocation of $6.5 million. To learn more about the CDC's Best Practices for Comprehensive Tobacco Control Programs, click here.
Tobacco Tax
After a long five year battle and for the first time since 1991, the Iowa Legislature increased Iowa's cigarette tax by $1 bringing the total tax to $1.36 per pack. Iowa Tobacco Prevention Alliance applauds the leadership of Governor Culver and the actions of the Iowa Legislature to pass this bipartisan tobacco excise tax legislation that will reduce tobacco use and ultimately save lives. Iowa can expect the $1 per pack cigarette tax increase to prevent some 38,600 Iowa kids alive today from becoming smokers, save 17,600 Iowans from smoking-caused deaths, produce more than $860 million in long-term health care savings, and raise about $153 million a year in new revenue. (Source: Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids)