Tobacco-Free Marion County

GRASSROOTS NEWSLETTER

November-December 2006Volume 5  Number 3

 

Happy Holidays, Advocates!  Welcome to the new members we met at Bull Shoals Arts in the Park, Marion County Fair, Hillbilly Chili Cookoff, Turkey Trot, and Bruno-Pyatt Interact Club.  We’ll let you know in the January-February letter what gains we’ve made together to decrease tobacco marketing here in Marion County.  This year smoke free efforts have much to celebrate and for which to be grateful.  No longer when entertaining out-of-state guests will we have to explain that people still smoke in indoor public places in Arkansas. We can also boast legislation protecting children from secondhand smoke while restrained in vehicle safety seats.

 

The holidays always offer the opportunity to educate people about the dangers of secondhand smoke, should some want to smoke at parties or gatherings. Remember that the Surgeon General has stated that there is no safe exposure to secondhand smoke.  Only minutes of exposure thickens the aorta and begins the cascade of risk factors toward heart disease, thickening the blood platelets and stiffening and inflaming blood vessels at rates indistinguishable from regular smokers.  As well, you may have the opportunity to remind individuals claiming to use only the occasional holiday cigarette that the same risks apply to as few as 1 to 3 cigarettes.

 

We should be very aware that the holidays are too often the backsliding point for many nicotine addicts who had previously quit.  Nicotine is tremendously addictive in addition to its role in heart disease and cancer.  Chemical changes in the brain can last for years. We need to continue to support quitters with encouragement.  Never vilify smokers.  You know that 9 of 10 became addicted as children.

 

On Election Day this month, voters in Ohio, Arizona, and Nevada supported strong and effective clean indoor air initiatives over the similarly-named choices offered by tobacco cartel front groups.  Competing with legitimate public health initiatives, industry-backed  weaker measures titled Smoke Less Ohio, the Responsibly to Protect Nevadans from Second-Hand Smoke Act, and Proposition 206 in Arizona backed by the Arizona Non-Smoker Protection Committee failed to confuse the clean indoor air issue.  Beware of Big Tobacco’s newest tricks!

In Arizona, tobacco giant Reynolds American spent more than $1.40 for every man, woman and child in Arizona to oppose effective tobacco prevention legislation. The Campaign for Tobacco Free Kids estimates that big tobacco spent more than $84 million challenging public health issues in the last few months.

Not all tobacco prevention ballot measures succeeded.  California’s 300% tobacco tax increase and Missouri’s 87 cent tax increase failed due largely to a confused concern for where the monies would be directed.   Yet South Dakotans approved increasing their cigarette tax by $1 per pack and the tax on other tobacco products from 10 percent to 35 percent of the wholesale price. In Florida a constitutional amendment passed guaranteeing the highly successful Truth campaign 15% of each year’s Master Settlement funds after a 2003 funding slash for tobacco prevention caused a reversal of steadily declining youth use.

Congratulations to our local Senator Shawn Womack, co-sponsor of the 2006 Arkansas Clean Indoor Air Act and Senate Minority Leader, who has been named as Chairman of the Joint Budget Committee and to our District 86 Representative Monty Davenport, who was re-elected. While Mr. Davenport did not support the ACIA or the Protection from Secondhand Smoke for Children in Cars Act, he has not been unsympathetic to tobacco prevention efforts.

All of our policy makers can be reminded of the danger and cost of subsidizing the tobacco industry.  Effective tobacco prevention remains: (1) creating smoke free environments,        (2) significantly increasing tobacco taxes, and (3) marketing reform reducing youth access.

Tobacco use in Arkansas costs $812 million in lost health care expenses, $242 million in Medicaid each year alone.  While smoking nationwide has declined by nearly half since 1965, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention are reporting that health officials fear they will be unable to meet the "Healthy People 2010" goal of cutting adult cigarette smokers to 12 percent of the population.

TFMC would especially like to recognize Yellville Mayor Janell Kirkwood and Marion County Judge Charlie Trammel for their efforts toward improving the public health in our community.  Mayor Kirkwood was instrumental in getting the Arkansas Municipal League to actively encourage tobacco cessation for all of the state’s municipal employees.   Judge Trammel oversaw the Quorum Court’s decision to enact a 50’ smoke free buffer for all county buildings after the Arkansas Clean Indoor Air Act, giving Marion County properties the strongest protection in the state. 

 

Remember to share these important phone numbers.  1-866-NOW QUIT is the FREE cessation service provided by UAMS tobacco interventionists. A fine opportunity for those New Years’ resolutions! 1-877- ID TEENS is the hotline for reporting illegal sales of tobacco products.  And at 1-800- 235-0002 callers can report non-compliance with the Clean Air Act. 

 

This holiday season please accept our gratitude for challenging tobacco in Marion County.  When TFMC began in 2002, Marion County had the highest tobacco use rate in the state.  Today we are ranked 70th.  Your activism and education made this possible. We can celebrate large but must never lose our vigilance.  Thank you for challenging tobacco.  We look forward to working with you in 2007.

 

         Tobacco-Free Marion County

                    PO Box 188

                   Pyatt, AR 72687