2013 -- H 5476

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LC00067

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STATE OF RHODE ISLAND

IN GENERAL ASSEMBLY

JANUARY SESSION, A.D. 2013

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A N A C T

RELATING TO HEALTH AND SAFETY

     

     

     Introduced By: Representatives McNamara, Bennett, Naughton, and Ruggiero

     Date Introduced: February 14, 2013

     Referred To: House Finance

It is enacted by the General Assembly as follows:

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     SECTION 1. Title 23 of the General Laws entitled "HEALTH AND SAFETY" is hereby

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amended by adding thereto the following chapter:

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     CHAPTER 88

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TOBACCO CONTROL PROGRAM

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     23-88-1. Legislative findings. – Cigarette smoking presents serious public health

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concerns to the state and to the citizens of the state. The surgeon general has determined that

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smoking causes lung cancer, heart disease and other serious diseases, and that there are hundreds

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of thousands of tobacco related deaths in the United States each year. These diseases most often

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do not appear until many years after the person begins smoking.

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     23-88-2. Tobacco Control Program. – (a) For fiscal years 2014 and 2015, the governor

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and general assembly shall include at least three million, one hundred thousand dollars

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($3,100,000) in the annual budget for appropriations to the state department of health to

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implement the tobacco control program and for programs and activities aimed at reducing

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tobacco use in Rhode Island as recommended by the centers for disease control and prevention, or

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its successor agency, to prevent and reduce tobacco use, reduce exposure to secondhand smoke,

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encourage cessation efforts, and identify and eliminate disparities related to tobacco use and its

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effects among different population groups.

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     (b) Commencing fiscal year 2016 and each fiscal year thereafter, the governor and

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general assembly shall include in the annual budget in appropriations an additional five hundred

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thousand ($500,000) to the amount allocated to the department of health tobacco control program

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in the previous year for the purposes described in subsection (a) of this section until total funding

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for the program has reached the level of funding recommended by the United States centers for

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disease control and prevention, or its successor agency.

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     SECTION 2. This act shall take effect upon passage.

     

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LC00067

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EXPLANATION

BY THE LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL

OF

A N A C T

RELATING TO HEALTH AND SAFETY

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     This act would create the Tobacco Control Program designed to help reduce tobacco use

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in Rhode Island.

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     This act would take effect upon passage.

     

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LC00067

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H5476