AUGUSTA - The Legislature's Taxation Committee voted unanimously last week to advance a bill sponsored by Rep. Jay McCreight, D-Harpswell, that would increase funding for Maines tobacco prevention and cessation programs.
As amended, LD 1423 would allocate revenue from current tobacco product sales toward Maine's tobacco control program, increasing its current level of annual funding from $8.4 million to $15.9 million, the full amount recommended by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). The tobacco industry, meanwhile, spends over $40 million annually to promote tobacco products in the state.
"Our tobacco control program is currently underfunded," said McCreight. "The goal of this proposal is to make use of the revenue coming from current tobacco product sales to fund evidence-based prevention and cessation programs. The public health impacts of tobacco use are devastating, and this strong action will help prevent people from starting to use it, as well as provide help for those trying to stop."
The bill faces further votes in the House and Senate in the coming weeks.
McCreight, House chair of the Legislature's Marine Resources Committee and a member of the Veterans and Legal Affairs Committee, is serving her fourth term in the Maine House and represents Harpswell, West Bath and northeastern Brunswick.
Contact:
Jackie Merrill [McCreight], c. 812-1111