American Lung Association switches anti-tobacco 'Day at the Capitol' to virtual rally

Given the coronavirus pandemic, the American Lung Association and the Pennsylvania Alliance to Control Tobacco are shifting their annual “Day at the Capitol” rally to a virtual town hall meeting on May 5.

“Lung health has never been more important in Pennsylvania,” said Deborah Brown, American Lung Association Chief Mission Officer. “Tobacco prevention and control funding is always critical to preventing death and disease as well as reducing health care costs, but it is particularly essential during the youth vaping epidemic and covid-19 pandemic.”

The ALA’s annual “Day at the Capitol” will be replaced this year with advocates conducting virtual legislative visits from 9 a.m. to 11:30 a.m., culminating in a virtual town hall meeting, where speakers will include Brown, ALA Chief Medical Officer Dr. Albert Rizzo and National Senior Director Jennifer Folkenroth, State Sen. Mario Scavello and others.

Pennsylvania receives Master Settlement Agreement (MSA) funds from the tobacco industry to compensate the state for the harm caused by tobacco use. Act 77 of 2001 created the Tobacco Settlement Fund (TSF) to receive the revenues from the Master Settlement Agreement that was reached with the five major tobacco companies on Dec. 17, 1999. A portion of the TSF was established to provide funding for tobacco prevention and cessation services. Currently, less than 5% of funding supports these services and, due to securitization in 2017, these programs are at an increased risk of losing funding annually, ALA officials said.

Click here to register to attend the virtual “Day at the Capitol.”