We are getting ready to rumble! We expect the 2015 MD General Assembly session to be eventful and productive. Get a load of the issues we are preparing to work on, and join us, if you’d like, for a short call January 26th to learn details and how you can help. RSVP for the Jan 26 Session call: [email protected]
Obesity prevention in children - Eliminate sugar sweetened beverages from kids’ restaurant menus and restrict meal-included beverages to water and low fat milk. Soda, juice drinks, sports drinks, and other sugary drinks are the largest source of calories in children's diets, providing nearly half of children's sugar intake. A Harvard School of Public Health study found that for each additional serving of soda or juice drink a child consumes per day, the child's chance of becoming overweight increases by 60%. Reducing sugar-sweetened beverage consumption could go a long way towards fighting childhood obesity across the country and in Maryland.
Put your two cents in now to alert our legislators we need to solve this problem!
Significantly Increase Tobacco Excise Tax – Promote a 50% increase in the excise tax on cigarettes, raising the cost per package from $2.00 to $3.00. Every 10 percent increase in the consumer’s cost of cigarettes reduces overall cigarette consumption by approximately three to five percent, reduces the number of young-adult smokers by 3.5 percent, and reduces the number of kids who smoke by six or seven percent. An increase in the excise tax would be a significant step towards saving lives.
We may also be working to:
- Promote sustainable healthy food and beverage vending policies and service standards in Baltimore City.
- Enact statewide standards for the formal designation of acute stroke ready hospitals, primary stroke centers, and comprehensive stroke centers consistent with American Heart Association criteria.
- Eliminate the tax on bottled water to encourage consumption of water over sugar-sweetened beverages.
Thanks for being by our side! We couldn’t do this without you: our You’re the Cure advocates work to support and advocate for public policies that will help improve the cardiovascular health of Americans and reduce deaths by coronary heart disease and stroke. If our voice is loud enough this session, we can impact the lives of many Marylanders for many years to come!
Click here to send your customizable letter to support healthier restaurant meals for kids now.
Be the first to comment