The American Heart Association covers many areas when it comes to heart disease and stroke (see list at right). The current priority is to reduce exposure to secondhand smoke by reducing tobacco use, particularly among children.
Increase Tobacco Excise Taxes
- Support significant increases in tobacco excise taxes at all levels of government, including state, county or municipal.
- Seek opportunities to allocate revenues generated by increased tobacco excise taxes to tobacco control, prevention and cessation programs, and other heart disease and stroke related health initiatives.
Establish, Strengthen and Protect Smoke-Free Workplaces Law
- Promote and protect comprehensive smoke-free workplace laws at the state and local levels, in compliance with the Fundamentals of Smoke-free Workplace Laws guidelines.
- For states with preemption, work to remove preemption provisions and/or strengthen statewide smoke-free air laws.
Support Tobacco Control Prevention and Treatment Programs
- Establish sustainable funding for state tobacco prevention and cessation programs to levels that meet or exceed Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommendations.
- Tobacco control programs should be comprehensive in accordance with CDC recommendations, constructed intelligently, staffed appropriately and administered effectively with periodic evaluation.
For more information about the policies on this page, please contact Carter Headrick, 512.423.5733
