Minnesota Senate Majority Leader Honored for Tobacco Prevention Achievements

Washington, DC - Minnesota State Senator Roger Moe will receive the Mike Synar Memorial Public Service Award today in honor of his tireless efforts to create, fund and maintain an endowment for tobacco prevention which will protect Minnesota’s families from the ravages of tobacco addiction. The Synar Award is given annually to outstanding Americans who have demonstrated a special commitment to protecting the public from the deadly effects of tobacco. “No state legislator has worked harder than Roger Moe to make tobacco prevention a priority for his state,” said Matthew Myers, executive vice president and general counsel of the CAMPAIGN. “Because of his work, Minnesotans will have a tobacco prevention program they can be proud of.” Senator Moe’s leadership includes proposing the endowment of state settlement payments for tobacco prevention and then working to ensure that the Minnesota legislature enacted such a measure this year. Senator Moe’s diligence has resulted in an allocation of almost $500 million, making Minnesota the first state to endow significant portions of its settlement funds for tobacco prevention. “We commend Roger Moe for his commitment to do something meaningful about the toll tobacco takes on Minnesota’s kids and families,” said Bill Novelli, president of the CAMPAIGN FOR TOBACCO-FREE KIDS. “ He has made Minnesota a leader in the fight to hold Big Tobacco accountable for all the harm the industry does to the public health.” Mike Synar, for whom the award is named, was a U.S. Congressman, who represented Oklahoma from 1979 to 1994. A crusader for political reform and an individual who demonstrated great personal integrity, Rep. Synar was a leader in the fight against tobacco. The Synar Award has been presented jointly by the CAMPAIGN FOR TOBACCO-FREE KIDS, American Heart Association and American Cancer Society. Previous recipients include President Bill Clinton, Vice President Al Gore, Governor Lawton Chiles of Florida, Washington Governor Gary Locke and New Jersey Governor Christine Todd Whitman.