April 25, 2007

LEGISLATIVE ALERT – Tobacco tax increase to support a healthy Indiana

The tobacco industry is working hard to try to stop the cigarette tax increase and we’ll have to work even harder through the end of session this Sunday for the Hoosier Faith and Health Coalition to be successful.

Now is the crucial time for legislators and the media to hear from people like you who want to save lives, prevent diseases and reduce health costs attributable to tobacco products.

Please help in the final effort to ask the Indiana General Assembly for

• A one dollar per pack increase in the cigarette tax,
• Restored funding for ITPC to the CDC-recommended minimum level of $34.8 million per year, in addition to
• Health coverage for low income uninsured Hoosiers.

Please take one or more of the actions below now to help us succeed.

1. CONTACT YOUR REPRESENTATIVE AND SENATOR AND ASK THEM TO PASS HB1678, which has the health care plan that passed in SB503, but it also should have a cigarette tax increase (ask legislators for a $1/pack increase) and tobacco prevention and cessation funding for the Indiana Tobacco Prevention and Cessation agency (ITPC) ($34.8 million per year total).

AN EASY WAY TO TAKE ACTION IS TO GO THE HOOSIER FAITH & HEALTH COALITION WEB SITE (WWW.HOOSIERFAITHANDHEALTH.ORG/) AND CLICK THE “TAKE ACTION” BUTTON AT THE BOTTOM OF THE PAGE. This button will take you to an electronic letter that you can send to your legislators. Or you can click this link: http://tfk.grassroots.com/hoosierfaithandhealth/TakeAction/.

TO MAKE SURE THE LETTER GOES TO YOUR LEGISLATORS, JUST PUT YOUR NAME AND ADDRESS AND E-MAIL ADDRESS IN THE FIELDS BESIDE THE LETTER, CLICK SEND AND THIS LETTER WILL GO STRAIGHT TO YOUR LEGISLATORS. You can even personalize the letter.

2. WRITE A LETTER TO THE EDITOR OF YOUR LOCAL NEWSPAPER.

3. SEND AN ACTION ALERT to friends, family, colleagues and congregation members and ask them to contact their legislators. The Tell-A-Friend section of the TOBACCO FREE ACTION NETWORK allows you to do this very easily, but you also could forward the action alert or write your own message to your personal and professional contacts.

PLEASE LET THEM KNOW THAT WE MUST TAKE ACTION TODAY TO CONVINCE INDIANA’S LAWMAKERS TO PASS H.B. 1678 THIS WEEK.

4. CONTACT YOUR NEWSPAPERS and ASK FOR THEM TO WRITE EDITORIALS IN SUPPORT OF HB1678, which we want to include a $1.00 per pack increase in the cigarette tax and restored funding for tobacco prevention programs at the CDC-recommended minimum level of $34.8 million per year, in addition to the health insurance for low-income Hoosiers.

5. ASK FRIENDS, FAMILY, CONGREGATION MEMBERS AND COLLEAGUES TO WRITE LETTERS to the editors of local newspapers.

If we accomplish these five things and do them well TODAY, TOMORROW and THIS WEEK, we’ll have a great chance of succeeding in convincing legislators to pass HB1678 with a significant cigarette tax increase and restored funding for ITPC. The time left in session is short, but it only makes each contact with legislators that much more important. We want to end session with a solid, resounding message of support for our positions. Now is the time for us to have our peak level of activity. The legislative session of the Indiana General Assembly is scheduled to end this Sunday.

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