e-mail: · PO Box 492028 · Los Angeles, CA 90049-8028
Tel. (310) 471-0303

 

February 18, 2000

Contact: Deborah Maxwell, American Lung Association of LA, (323) 935-5864
Contact: Patrick Reynolds, President, Tobaccofree.Org, (310) 471-0303 office

DON'T USE LA'S TOBACCO SETTLEMENT FUNDS
TO PAY FOR LAWSUITS AGAINST LAPD

WHEN: Today, 4:00 pm

WHAT: An objection by local anti-smoking advocates to Mayor Riordan's proposed allocation of LA County's share of the tobacco settlement funds, expected to total $300 million over 25 years. Mayor Riordan announced yesterday he wants to use all of LA's tobacco settlement funds to pay off expected lawsuits against the LAPD, anticipated as a consequence of the LAPD Rampart Division's corruption scandal.

Advocates are suggesting that these funds should be used instead to pay down the medical costs of smoking, and for tobacco education in schools. Why should our children suffer because of the LAPD's mistakes?

The mayor's action is part of a much larger national trend. In the States' settlement with big tobacco, all moneys go directly into the States' General Funds. The settlement agreement signed by 46 Attorneys General did not require that any part be set aside to address the problems associated with tobacco use. So far, only a very few States have allocated a substantial portion of their settlement funds for medical costs or tobacco education.

In fact, according to the Campaign for Tobaccofree Kids, of the 30 states which received tobacco settlement money in 1999, only eight provided enough new funding for truly comprehensive tobacco prevention and cessation programs. Eleven others dedicated limited funds for tobacco prevention, but each of these will spend far less than CDC recommends for an effective program. The remaining states did not dedicate any funds to protecting their children from tobacco. For further information on this, please see http://tobaccofreekids.org/reports/settlements/

WHO: Patrick Reynolds, President, Tobaccofree.Org -- A grandson of tobacco company founder R.J. Reynolds, a local anti-smoking advocate. (See www.tobacofree.org/bio.htm.) The CEO of the American Lung Association of LA will also speak at the news conference.

WHERE: ALA of Los Angeles County, 5858 Wilshire Blvd, Ste 300, 3 blocks East of Fairfax Ave