An Act relating to restricting sale of cigarettes and to smoking education and cessation programs administered by the Department of Health and Social Services.

Updated: March 22, 1999

This legislation was introduced in conjunction with CSHB 21, which allocates the $669 million that Alaska will receive under the tobacco settlement. CSHB 37 adds a comprehensive smoking education, tobacco use prevention, and tobacco control program to the list of state programs administered by the Department of Health and Social Services. It also contains provisions to bolster tobacco control enforcement efforts in Alaska.

SMOKING IS THE LEADING CAUSE OF DEATH IN ALASKA. According to the Alaska Tobacco Control Alliance, about 500 Alaskans die every year from smoking-related illnesses. Alaska has one of the highest smoking rates in the country-110,000 smokers-and more than 80 percent of Alaskans who smoke report that they want to quit. We need to lend a hand to those who want to quit, and prevent people-our youth, in particular-from starting this potentially deadly habit.

CSHB37 outlines a comprehensive tobacco control program based on the Center for Disease Control's guidelines. Similar programs in California and Massachusetts have yielded remarkable results: cigarette consumption in California has declined 40% overall, and smoking in Massachusetts has decreased by 31%. Alaska is long overdue for such a program. The sooner we implement it, the sooner we can save lives and reduce the costs to individuals and the State for smoking-related illnesses.

Additionally, this bill prohibits sales of cigarettes in groups of less than 20, not in their original packaging, and not properly labeled for sale in the United States. By strengthening tobacco control enforcement, these provisions help support the comprehensive program.

It is the sponsor's intention that upon passage of this bill, contractual agreements will be made with organizations such as the American Lung Association of Alaska, the American Cancer Society, and the Alaska Native Health Board to implement the program. The Department of Health and Social Services will be responsible for oversight; we do not need to contribute to government bureaucracy by burdening the State with additional programmatic duties.

This bill will be a valuable tool in shaping the future of all Alaskans-whether they be young or old, smokers or not-by improving their overall health, decreasing smoking-related medical costs, protecting our future generations from the negative effects of smoking, and even saving lives.

I urge you to support this legislation.