The Massachusetts Medical Society (MMS) wishes to be recorded in support for
S. 1554, An Act to reduce lung cancer deaths.
The Massachusetts Medical Society (MMS) is a professional association of over 23,000 physicians, residents, and medical students across all clinical disciplines, organizations, and practice settings. The Medical Society is committed to advocating on behalf of patients, for a better health care system, and on behalf of physicians, to help them provide the best care possible.
Lung cancer is the leading cause of cancer-related death in Massachusetts, causing more deaths than prostate cancer, breast cancer, and colorectal cancer combined. Tobacco use disproportionately affects many marginalized populations, including people in low-income communities, racial and ethnic minorities, LGBTQ+ individuals, those with mental illness, and individual with disabilities. These groups have a long and documented history of being targeted with marketing and advertising strategies by tobacco companies.
The tobacco industry spends nearly one million dollars per hour on retail advertising and price discounts, and the number of tobacco retailers per square mile is about five times higher in the lowest-income neighborhoods and on average, over 60% of public schools are within 1,000 feet of a tobacco retailer.
S. 1554 seeks to improve lung cancer screening awareness and accessibility in Massachusetts through a multi-faceted approach, including requiring the Massachusetts Tobacco Cessation and Prevention Program to provide counseling about lung cancer screening to individuals accessing the Massachusetts Quitline and to report the data on number of individuals accessing the Quitline. Furthermore, it directs the Department of Public Health to develop signage providing referral information on lung cancer screening for retailers to post in their retail establishments. Sharing materials about lung cancer screening effectiveness and eligibility along with instructions on how to access screening could increase early detection in populations at highest risk for lung cancer.
For these reasons, we urge the Committee to report S. 1554 our favorably. Thank you very much for your consideration of these important issues.
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