Prop 29 (politics)

VOX POPULI: PROP. 29 WILL BENEFIT AAPI COMMUNITY

By DR. PAUL Y. SONG

As an Asian American oncologist who lost his own father to cancer, I have been concerned with the overall increasing incidence of cancer in our community. Asian Americans are the only ethnic group for whom cancer is the leading cause of death.

On June 5, Asian American and Pacific Islanders will have an opportunity to stop this killer in our community.

At a time when the United States Congress has begun to drastically reduce National Institute of Health funding for all healthcare research, Prop. 29 will raise badly needed money to fill this gap while also helping to discourage people from smoking, which is still a leading cause of cancer.

Approximately 15,000-20,000 Asian American and Native Hawaiian/Pacific Islanders will die every year because of tobacco related illnesses.