AHA Statement on passing of Senator Myers

The AHA joined with members from the Smoke-Free Oklahoma Coalition in releasing a statement about the passing of Senator Myers. Senator David Myers passed away Thursday from a lung infection. He served as our legislative champion in the Senate for smoke-free legislation and will be greatly missed.

 Health organizations saddened by loss of Senator David Myers

The State of Oklahoma has lost a great champion with the passing of Sen. David Myers.

The Republican from Ponca City died on Thursday. He was a strong supporter of issues related to tobacco control in Oklahoma.

“It will be hard to fill the gap left by Sen. Myers’ passing,” said Marilyn Davidson, government relations director for the American Heart Association. “He recently stated that passing smoke-free legislation was going to be a main priority for him during his last three years in office. He was a true treasure.”

The coalition of the American Heart Association, American Lung Association and American Cancer Society partnered regularly with Myers on health-related issues, especially those related to fighting tobacco.

“This is a great loss to Oklahoma. He felt a tremendous personal mission to pass legislation to protect all Oklahomans from secondhand smoke,” said Pat Marshall, Legislative and Government Relations Director for the American Cancer Society.

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