Smoking in Cars with Children (HB 89)

The first bill up for discussion this legislative session is one dealing with smoking in cars with children 15 years old and younger. Representative Patrice Arent is the sponsor of the bill, and its official title is Protection of Children Riding in Motor Vehicles. The text can be found HERE.

There has been some controversy over this bill, mainly dealing with property rights. What we need to realize is that the rights of the child strapped into the backseat are being taken away, and it is for them that we need to make our voices heard.

Calls to action will be coming soon.  While we wait, take a look at some information pertaining to the issue:

The Bill:

• Last year, this bill passed in the House, 40 yeas / 31 nays.
• Though passing in the Senate committee, it died the last night of the session without a vote. (cowards...)
• Last year, the age was 8 years and younger, but has been increased to a more comprehensive age of 15 and younger. 

The Issue:

• There is NO SAFE LEVEL of tobacco smoke exposure
• The level of toxic air in a vehicle when smoking is up to 10 TIMES GREATER than what the US Environmental Protection Agency considers hazardous.
• In 1997, the National Cancer Institute concluded that secondhand smoke (SHS) is the cause of:
• 2,000 cases of SIDS a year
• 8,000 new cases of asthma in children a year
• 1 MIL cases of exacerbated asthma in children a year
• As quoted from the Surgeon General, 2007:
• "Because their bodies are developing, infants and young children are especially vulnerable to the poisons in secondhand smoke."
• "...Babies who are exposed to secondhand smoke after birth are more likely to die from sudden death syndrome (SIDS) than babies who are not exposed to cigarette smoke."
• "Secondhand smoke exposure causes acute lower respiratory infections such as bronchitis and pneumonia in infants and young children."
• "Children exposed to secondhand smoke are at increased risk for ear infections and are more likely to need an operation to insert ear tubes for drainage."

For more information on secondhand smoke, visit tobaccofreekids.org, ctfu.org, heart.org, cancer.org

Resistance is FUTILE

To kick off the legislative session, I have a little story:

Once upon a time, there was a country. Yes, thats right, a country. This country decided to take a stand for the health of its people. As this country took that stand, it put a little damper on a company by the name of Philip Morris. The country, Uruguay, pursued more comprehensive Tobacco Prevention laws, including more prominent warning labels. Philip Morris sent a simple message to the COUNTRY of Uruguay: We have more money than you. Resistance is futile.  So, a single company has more money than a country. Big deal. Scare tactics didn't work on those Uruguayans and they continued to fight for the health and safety of their people. All in all, they showed Philip Morris whats up.

They overcame the Big Tobacco monsters.

Now its our turn to take a stand. Click HERE to learn more and to cast your vote for Philip Morris as the Worst Company in 2011!

Seriously, what would be a better way to start off this session? Exactly.

Time Flies

Hey friends!

It has already been a whole year since our last legislative session. A lot has kept me busy, which is my excuse for not updating the blog since... lets see... June. I know, its ridiculous. Hopefully this upcoming year will be more productive for the blog. I haven't written on the blog, but things HAVE been happening. And things WILL BE happening! The session starts in approximately 30 hours! That is when all the fun begins.

I wish I had more to tell you about what we will be working on this session, but I cannot. I have met with some representatives regarding a few issues, and I have reviewed the legislative website. Other than that, information will be coming in soon! Until then, I can tell you about a few of the issues we will pursue this session:

- Smoking in cars with children
- Flavored tobacco
- Saving tobacco prevention funding

There may be more, but we shall start with those. All three were issues that didn't get resolved last year, so feel free to take a gander through the blog posts of last session to become semi-familiar with what is happening, and I will be on soon enough with more information to catch us all up to speed! Until then, get some rest because it is going to be a tiresome 1.5 months!

Cheers!