This event gets bigger every year, and depends on its great volunteers to continue to spread the important message and fight cancer.

Rockefeller also created the American Cancer Society, the American Heart Foundation, and the American Lung Association in this eugenics framework)

Antismoking is not new. It has a long, sordid history. The three antismoking crusades of the last century have been eugenics-driven. In eugenics, health is erroneously reduced to an entirely biological phenomenon and where a self-installed elite attempt to engineer/breed a “better” human herd. In addition to a genetic aspect, eugenics views tobacco and alcohol as racial poisons needing to be eradicated (negative eugenics). Antismoking was rife in early-1900s USA. Smoking and tobacco sales were banned in quite a number of American states.
http://www.americanheritage.com/artic....

The RWJF Anthology "Taking on Tobacco: The Robert Wood Johnson Foundation's Assault on Smoking" publication [iv] outlines how they gave $99 million in grants to fund coalitions "housed in organizations" such as the American Cancer Society (ACS), American Lung Association (ALA) and American Heart Association (AHA). This publication outlines all the organizations who received over $446 million in grants just through January, 2008. In the beginning, grants were given to organizations to promote tobacco education. Once organizations were used to receiving funding, if they did not move on to tobacco "control", their funding was cut off. The Foundation makes it perfectly clear in their publications that as a Foundation, their grant money cannot be used for lobbying. However, to quote Julia Roberts in Pretty Woman, that's just geography. It's just moving money from point A to point B while accomplishing lobbying, with smoking cessation as RWJF's ultimate goal. Over $99,000 in grant money was invested in Evaluating an Innovative Communications Campaign Designed to Increase Consumer Demand for Tobacco Dependence Treatment by Medicaid Recipients [v]. Nearly $97,000 in grant money was invested for Individual and Policy Level Influences on the Use of Various Cessation Strategies and Abstinence from Cigarettes Among Adult Smokers [vi].

Tax-exempt nonprofit organizations categorized under IRC 501(c)(3) in federal law [i.e. 26 USC 501(c)(3)] are generally permitted to "lobby" to some extent, but are absolutely prohibited from engaging in "political activity." The distinction between these two activities is crucial, but not always simple to make. Under federal law (IRC 501), lobbying to an extent beyond an "insubstantial" amount is only permitted by IRC 501(c)(3) organizations that may and do elect to qualify under the IRC 501(h) rules, which provides strict financial limits for lobbying expenditures. Violation of the laws and regulations controlling lobbying and political activity can result in any or all of: fines (in the form of excise taxes) against the organization, personal fines against organization managers, and loss of federal tax-exemption recognition. Obviously this is dangerous ground for 501(c)(3) tax-exempt organizations and their staff, yet lobbying is an important activity for many.

http://www.muridae.com/nporegulation/lobbying.html

What Qualifies as Lobbying or Political Activity?
In IRC 501(c)(3), lobbying is described as "carrying on propaganda, or otherwise attempting, to influence legislation," while political activity is described as "participat[ing] in, or interven[ing] in (including the publishing or distributing of statements), any political campaign on behalf of (or in opposition to) any candidate for public office." In short, IRC 501(c)(3) organizations may take sides with respect to political issues, but not political candidates. Since candidates commonly array themselves on opposite sides of issues, there are obvious difficulties at times in distinguishing between actions that support an issue but not a particular candidate.

Organizations that plan to make lobbying a very substantial part of their activities are often advised not to apply for federal tax-exempt status under IRC 501(c)(3), which prescribes strict limits to this type of activity, but rather under another classification. Although this entails losing certain advantages associated with IRC 501(c)(3) status, it also frees the organization from the significant limits on lobbying and political activity imposed on IRC 501(c)(3) organizations.

What part of illegal activities doesnt the ACS understand yet! toss em in prison!

As always Patch appreciates open communication through comments. JackE, you've demonstrated your point through the provided links, but it is getting off-topic. Lets bring the conversation back to the Relay for Life volunteers and general mission of the American Cancer Society — to fight every kind of cancer.

Congratulations Marlene Lewis becoming chairperson of Aliso Viejo Relay for Life 2012. Your support over four years has been extremely passionate. Volunteers like yourself make this event very rewarding and successful every lap we walk for fighting cancer. Positive steps we walk are for survivors we know and those we've lost. The volunteer legacy of this event is fabulous meeting new people and helping those in need.