VICTORY!!!

I have some bad news and some good news... Oh wait. Just good news. This legislative session was a success! Through effective activism on your part, the two bills we worked on this legislative session passed. They passed! That is a 100% record this session. Good job, y'all.

After a signature by the Governor, the following changes will be happening in Utah:
- HB 95: This restricts tobacco retailers to set up shop within 1,000 feet of community centers (schools, churches, parks, etc.). This will weaken Big Tobacco's efforts of drawing in youth to tobacco use at an early age, and will keep tobacco (and illegal drugs) farther away from places that youth may gather. Score.

- HB 245: This amends the Utah Indoor Clean Air Act to include hookah pipes and eCigarettes. That means hookahs and eCigs will not be allowed in any public building. And THAT means a big step in the direction of healthier and cleaner air in Utah.

Can you feel the power of your voice yet? I sure hope so. Well, as we heard in Spiderman: "With great power comes great responsibility." I think we all have a responsibility to write our legislators and thank them for supporting these bills.

Here is what to do:
1. Copy and paste THESE EMAIL ADDRESSES into your BCC line.
2. Put something like "Thank you for supporting tobacco prevention and Utah health this year!" in the subject line.
3. Write a few sentences about the victory and how thankful you are for their support.
4. Hit send!

5. *Optional, but recommended* Come to the capitol this evening to say thanks face to face! We are meeting in the rotunda at 5:30. You can get a free shirt!

Congrats again, everyone. How is that for #winning!?

Getting Closer...

I thought drama ended in High School. Then, I joined the political arena...

So, long story short: After an "enjoyable discussion" on the House floor, HB 245 passed on to the Senate! And if the Senate is anything like the House, we might want to do a little more educating to avoid any road blocks that may arise. Ready, set, go:

1. Copy and paste THESE EMAILS in the BCC line of your email.

2. Follow steps 2-5 from HERE. (Talking points, personal story, etc.)

It almost seems TOO easy...

Welcome to the New Year

Happy New Year!

2012 is the year of the Dragon, which means a year of good fortune and a sign of intense power. With that being said, it is time to rev up your activist engines and get ready for a stellar legislative session! To kick off the session, a handful of activists showed up at the capitol yesterday in solidarity to support a bill that would make the Utah Indoor Clean Air Act (UICAA) more comprehensive. Let me explain:

Hookahs are harmful to your health. To inhale hookah smoke means to inhale toxins that can affect the user and those around them. In fact, "secondhand smoke from hookahs pose a serious risk for nonsmokers, particularly because it contains smoke not only from the tobacco, but also from the heat source (e.g., charcoal) used in the hookah." (CDC website). 

Next we have eCigarettes. These are devices are made for getting a nicotine hit without the nasty tobacco. As of right now, if you were in an airplane and someone starts smoking an eCigarette next to you, there is nothing you can do about it (other than breathe in the nicotine vapor). Just a reminder, nicotine is the most addictive substance in the world, and a single drop of pure nicotine injected into the blood stream will kill you in 7 seconds. Needless to say, its not the best stuff to be inhaling. 

Now that we have that information, it makes sense that people have voiced their concern for allowing these products in public places, free from restriction. A legislative bill was created with a hope for safer, cleaner air for all. This is HB 245, Amendment to Definition of Smoking in Utah Indoor Clean Air Act. Lets just call it HB 245 though. It is an extremely basic amendment that simply includes hookahs and eCigarettes to the UICAA. That means you won't need to worry about someone smoking their eCigarette next to you while in line at a grocery store. That means you won't need to worry about going out with friends one evening and ending up in a room full of toxin filled air. Less worries all around!

Yesterday at the capitol, the committee put this bill on hold because they didn't feel like they had enough information to make a vote on it. This means we have an opportunity to educate them! This is what we call a CALL TO ACTION:

Email the committee and explain why you feel this bill is important to you and your community. Share a personal story if you have one, share some facts (feel free to use the ones above, or find some new ones), and urge them to send the bill to the floor (which is political jargon for  allowing all of the House of Representatives to vote on it). 

Here are the emails of the House Government Operations Committee members:

kraigpowell@le.utah.gov

bgalvez@le.utah.gov

rchouck@le.utah.gov

janicefisher@le.utah.gov

cfrank@le.utah.gov

rgreenwood@le.utah.gov

coda@le.utah.gov

leeperry@le.utah.gov

dougsagers@le.utah.gov

evickers@le.utah.gov

Stay tuned for up to date information on all things tobacco this legislative session right here on the Project: 1200 blog. Oh, and if you haven't already, make sure to like us on facebook! Strength in numbers! 

Yours in the fight,

Peter.Moosman.

Hookahs!

Did you know:

A 45 - 60 minute hookah session exposes the smoker to approximately the same amount of tar and nicotine as an entire pack of cigarettes.

So the question comes down to this: Why are we JUST NOW having the conversation of whether they should be included in the Utah Indoor Clean Air Act (UICAA)?

We have the opportunity to tell our legislators that health is more important than profit. The Administrative Rules Review Committee is going to be discussing this very topic tomorrow afternoon, and we need to let them see where the support lies. Here's the plan:

Today:
- Email the committee members (contact info below - if you wanna be hardcore, get their numbers and call them) and let them know how important it is to include Hookahs in the UICAA (fact sheet HERE).
- Tell your friends to email as well! This can save lives and money in the state of Utah, and the more people to help out, the more likely to have a positive affect on our state.

Tomorrow:
Show up to the Utah State Capitol no later than 12:30 for the meeting at 1. It will be in room C445. If you let me know TODAY that you will be attending, we will have a pin made for you to show your support! The most important thing is to be visible support, but if you want to be ultra prepared, you can try to speak to the legislators before or after the meeting and share personal stories and testimonies.

Let me be the first to thank you for your efforts in Tobacco Prevention, and your willingness to respond to this call to action. THANK YOU!

If you have any questions, comments, or concerns, PLEASE don't hesitate to let me know at ProjectTwelveHundred@gmail.com

Thanks again!

Administrative Rules Review Committee
Member	E-Mail
Rep. Curtis Oda, Chair	coda@utah.gov
Sen. Howard A. Stephenson, Chair	hstephenson@utahsenate.org
Sen. Gene Davis	gdavis@utahsenate.org
Rep. Neal B. Hendrickson	nhendrickson@utah.gov
Rep. Rebecca D. Lockhart Speaker of the House	blockhart@utah.gov
Sen. Mark B. Madsen	mmadsen@utahsenate.org
Sen. Benjamin M. McAdams	bmcadams@utahsenate.org
Rep. Carol Spackman Moss	csmoss@utah.gov
Rep. Merlynn T. Newbold	merlynnnewbold@utah.gov
Sen. Michael G. Waddoups, Senate President	waddoups@utahsenate.org

CALL TO ACTION! HB 170

Urgent!!

HB 170, the flavored tobacco bill is up for discussion in the Business and Labor Committee at 4p.m. today (Fri, 25 Feb, 2011), and we need to urge the committee to pass it with a favorable recommendation! So, follow the steps:

1. Copy and paste the email addresses into the BCC line. Email addresses found HERE.
2. In Subject line, put VOTE YES ON HB170 TODAY
3. In the body of the email, urge the representatives to take a stand to protect Utah's children from the harmful effects of Big Tobacco. See talking points below.
4. Urge them to vote yes again!
5. Send BEFORE 4pm!

Talking Points:
- Big Tobacco markets tobacco products to attract kids, including flavored tobacco and candy-like shapes and packaging.
- Nicotine levels in many new tobacco products are so high, that if enough is consumed by a child, can cause nicotine poisoning and/or death.
- PERSONAL STORY
- You (the legislator) has the opportunity to protect children from the manipulation from Big Tobacco, thus saving Utahn's lives and money.

GO, FIGHT, WIN!