Report Shows Tobacco Money Flows to Campaigns, Lobbying

SACRAMENTO, Calif., Apr 17, 2008 (ASCRIBE NEWS via COMTEX) -- MO | news | PowerRating | PR Charts -- Tobacco interests spent nearly $2 million to influence California elections and legislative policy in 2007, according to a new report by the American Lung Association of California's Center for Tobacco Policy & Organizing (the Center).

"Campaign Contributions and Lobbying Expenditures of Tobacco Interests" shows which legislators and how much money was accepted from tobacco interests in 2007, as well as which bills the tobacco interests lobbied. This report for 2007 is one of a series of quarterly reports produced by the Center for the 2007-2008 election cycle. Highlights from the 2007 report include:

- Philip Morris USA, Inc., maker of Marlboro cigarettes, spent nearly $345,000 in the fourth quarter (September - December) of 2007 to lobby on ABX1-1, the health care reform bill authored by Speaker Fabian Nunez (D-46) and supported by Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger. The health care reform legislation would have increased the state tobacco tax by $1.75 per pack.

- Tobacco interests are making campaign contributions to legislators and candidates at the same rate they contributed in the previous election cycle. Tobacco interests gave campaign contributions to 37 Assembly Members, 16 Senators and five candidates for legislative office in 2007. These numbers are nearly identical to the figures after one-year of the 2005-2006 election cycle and show that tobacco interests are maintaining their financial presence in the Capitol.

"The tobacco money and politics report shows that the Marlboro Man continues to ride through the corridors of our state capitol," said Gwendolyn Young, Board Chair of the American Lung Association of California. "Make no mistake, the tobacco industry's campaign and lobbying money is designed to protect their profits, which come from addicting a new generation of smokers while keeping current smokers addicted to their deadly products."

In addition to this report, the Center unveiled an expanded online database of campaign contributions from tobacco interests to members of the Legislature. The public can use the database to see if their legislator accepted tobacco money. Additionally, the database contains contributions information for both current and past legislators and you can search by name, legislative district or county.

"All of this data is already accessible to the public through the Secretary of State's website, but the Center's new online database puts the information into a more accessible format so that the public can stay informed about how tobacco interests continue to influence important health policies in California," said Kimberly Weich Reusche, Director of the Center for Tobacco Policy and Organizing.

The data used in producing Campaign Contributions and Lobbying Expenditures of Tobacco Interests is derived from the semiannual contribution reports and the quarterly lobbying reports filed by the tobacco interests with the Secretary of State that cover the period January 1, 2007 through December 31, 2007. The data used for the contributions database comes from contribution reports filed by the tobacco interests from 2001 to the present.

A full copy of "Campaign Contributions and Lobbying Expenditures of Tobacco Interests" is available at http://www.Center4TobaccoPolicy.org/tobaccomoney .

The searchable database can be accessed at http://www.Center4TobaccoPolicy.org/database .

The Center for Tobacco Policy & Organizing is a project of the American Lung Association of California and funded by the California Department of Public Health, Tobacco Control Program. The Center assists local communities address tobacco related policies using community organizing strategies, and provides policy information and analysis regarding state and local tobacco related legislation and policy issues.

For 100 years, the American Lung Association has been the lead organization working to prevent lung disease and promote lung health. Lung disease death rates continue to increase while other leading causes of death have declined. The American Lung Association funds vital research on the causes of and treatments for lung disease. With the generous support of the public, the American Lung Association is "Improving life, one breath at a time." For more information about the American Lung Association or to support the work it does, call 1-800-LUNG-USA (1-800-586-4872) or visit http://www.californialung.org or http://www.lungusa.org.

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CONTACTS: Andrew Weisser, 818-703-6444, aweisser@alac.org

Kimberly Weich Reusche, 916-554-5864, kwreusche@alac.org

Or your local American Lung Association at 800-586-4872, http://www.californialung.org.

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