Cancer Society Takes on Health Care Policy

The American Cancer Society’s next ad campaign won’t tackle the tobacco wars or advocate mammograms, the Times reports. Instead, the group will devote its entire $15 million ad budget to the nation’s health care crisis. The move follows recent research linking detection delays with lack of coverage, which “will be a bigger cancer killer than tobacco,” the society predicts.

The multimedia campaign won’t push a specific solution, but analysts say similar initiatives by other interest groups highlight the urgency of the issue. Almost 16% of Americans lack insurance, with one of every 10 afflicted by cancer, and thousands more are plunged into poverty while battling the disease. One ACS board member, though, says health care is “not our fight.” (More American Cancer Society stories.)