URGENT: Tell US Senate: Hands off prevention & public health!

The U.S. Senate is set to vote tomorrow on a budget bill, approved by the House of Representatives last month, that would drastically cut funding for prevention and other essential public health programs. It is critical that you write your Senators TODAY asking them to oppose the House bill and its cuts to prevention and public health programs.

The U.S. already spends too little on programs that prevent costly diseases from occurring. Smart investments prevent disease, save lives, and rein in health care costs over time.

The cuts approved by the House of Representatives that the Senate will be voting on are shortsighted and severe. Funding for the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention would be cut by more than $1 billion this year.

Federal funding for state and local community-based tobacco prevention programs and help for tobacco users who want to quit will be jeopardized if these cuts are approved.

Contact your Senators and urge a NO vote on the House budget bill.

Lawmakers who want to reduce government spending should target wasteful and ineffective programs, not public health and prevention programs that have a proven record of success. We know how to reduce tobacco use and tobacco-related disease; by providing the resources to implement effective tobacco control programs, we will save lives and reduce health care costs.

Thank you,

Brian Hutchinson
Grassroots Director
Tobacco-Free Kids