Meeting Public Comments

Subcommittee meeting and times are as follows:
A bill for an act relating to bodies of the state governmental structure under the purview of the department of health and human services.(See HF 566.)
Subcommittee members: Fry-CH, Forbes, Lundgren
Date: Monday, February 27, 2023
Time: 3:00 PM - 3:30 PM
Location: RM 304
Names and comments are public records. Remaining information is considered a confidential record.
Comments Submitted:

02-27-2023
Kristina Hamilton [American Lung Association in Iowa]
On behalf of the American Lung Association, an organization working on behalf of the 327,000 Iowans living with lung diseases, we oppose HF 386 because it dissolves the Commission on Tobacco Use Prevention and Control. The existence of the Commission is critical to continuing the significant progress weve made in tobacco use and prevention, which include reducing the high school smoking rate from 18.9 percent in 2007, the year before the Smokefree Air Act passed the Iowa legislature, to just 6.7 percent last year.Despite these gains, tobacco use is still the leading cause of preventable death in Iowa and the United States. In Iowa, smoking causes more than 5,000 deaths per year and more than 1.28 million dollars in economic costs. The youth tobacco use rate is more than 22 percent, largely due to electronic cigarette use. It is critical that the Commission remains in existence so that Iowa has dedicated, subject matter experts in preventing and reducing tobacco use. We urge members to vote 'no' on HF 386 to keep the Commission in tact in our state. Thank you.