274787 Post Mortem: California's Proposition 29, the 2012 Tobacco Tax Initiative

Tuesday, October 30, 2012 : 8:50 AM - 9:10 AM

Stan Glantz, PhD , Department Medicine, School UCSF School of Medicine, San Francisco, CA
The tobacco industry has a long and well documented history of opposing effective tobacco control policies at the local, state, and federal levels. The UCSF Legacy Library is home to many published research papers and internal industry documents that describe how and why the industry works so diligently, and why it invests so much time and money in its opposition campaigns. Tobacco tax ballot initiatives should expect significant industry opposition, but California's 2012 Proposition 29 is an extreme example of industry interference and co-opting of the media. This presentation will review standard industry tactics to tobacco tax initiatives and specifically address the California experience. Ideas for future campaigns will also be discussed.

Learning Areas:
Public health or related public policy

Learning Objectives:
Participants will be able to identify tobacco industry interference tactics with tobacco tax initiatives. Participants will be able to explain the impact of tobacco industry partnerships with other public health groups and media outlets. Participants will be demonstrate responses to counter opposition attacks on tax initiatives designed to raise funds for public health programs and services including tobacco, sugar-sweetened beverages, or alcohol.

Presenting author's disclosure statement:

Qualified on the content I am responsible for because: I am the American Legacy Foundation Distinguished Professor of Tobacco Control, and conduct research on a wide range of topics ranging from the health effects of secondhand smoke (with particular emphasis on the cardiovascular system) to the efficacy of different tobacco control policies. I have presented and published research on secondhand smoke for over 15 years.
Any relevant financial relationships? No

I agree to comply with the American Public Health Association Conflict of Interest and Commercial Support Guidelines, and to disclose to the participants any off-label or experimental uses of a commercial product or service discussed in my presentation.

Back to: 4005.0: Emerging Trends in Tobacco Control: Past, Present, and Future Tobacco Industry 'Bad Acts' and Subsequent Policy Implications.