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PARRIS N. GLENDENING, Governor
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Ch. 17
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WHEREAS, Any framework for conquering cancer and tobacco related diseases
requires a commitment of resources to many related areas; including education,
prevention and early detection, treatment and supportive care, research, and
surveillance and evaluation; and
WHEREAS, The University of Maryland Medical System, Baltimore, which
includes the University of Maryland School of Medicine and the University of
Maryland Medical Center System, and The Johns Hopkins University are the State's
only two academic health centers and serve the health needs of the entire State of
Maryland;
WHEREAS, The cost of providing Medicare plus Choice managed care benefits
exceeded the income from premiums for these programs and thus has caused
managed care organizations to leave fourteen counties as medically underserved
areas in Maryland; and
WHEREAS, It is the intent of the Maryland General Assembly to provide an
incentive to managed care organizations to provide Medicare plus Choice programs to
seniors in those areas who have no Medicare managed care or are in medically
underserved areas; and
WHEREAS, The General Assembly recognizes that the State's receipt of large
sums of money under the Master Tobacco Settlement over a long period of time
creates a unique opportunity for the State to address problems relating to tobacco use
and cancer in a logical, planned, and committed fashion; and
WHEREAS, It is the intent of the General Assembly that the State coordinate
its use of the Cigarette Restitution Fund in a logical, planned, and committed fashion
so as to create a lasting legacy of public health initiatives that result in a reduction of
both tobacco use and a morbidity and mortality in the State from cancer and
tobacco related diseases and otherwise benefit the health and welfare of the State's
residents; now, therefore,
Preamble
WHEREAS, Cigarette smoking is the leading cause of preventable death in the
United States; and
WHEREAS, Each year the use of tobacco products kills over 7,500 Marylanders;
and
WHEREAS, Tobacco is a risk factor for the top four leading causes of death in
Maryland (heart disease, stroke, cancer, and pulmonary disease); and
WHEREAS, Among Maryland adolescents, smoking prevalence increased during
the 1990s after several years of decline; and
WHEREAS, In 1997, the direct and indirect costs of tobacco related diseases
increased by 2% and cost Marylanders over $1.8 billion; and
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- 189 -
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