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!?

Game On! HB245 Update

Alright folks,
HB245, the bill that includes eCigarettes and hookahs in the Utah Indoor Clean Air Act (UICAA) has moved to the next stop. And it needs help moving forward!

Lets blitz the House with educational emails! Follow these simple steps:

1. Copy and paste THESE EMAIL ADDRESSES to the BCC line of your email.
2. Pick a couple talking points from the list below to share. (Feel free to add THIS IMAGE to your email to urge them to not repeat history. We have the evidence that nicotine is harmful.)
3. Share a personal story! Why is clean air important to you, your family, or community.
4. Ask them where they stand on the issue (if you hear back about this, please let us know!)
5. Send!

Easy, right? So lets do this!

(Oh, one last thing... Please send out a one lined email to THESE EMAILS [at bottom] thanking the legislators for voting yes on HB245 and passing it out of committee. Thanks!)

TALKING POINTS:

• HB245 is about protecting Utahns from involuntary exposure to tobacco smoke and other toxins in indoor public places.

• Data show that hookah and e-cigarettes have a harmful impact on health. The World Health Organization, American Cancer Society, American Lung Association, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and others all delineate the risks of use and exposure to hookah and e-cigarettes.

• HB245 does not ban hookah or e-cigarettes or any class of product. It deals only with the use of emerging products in indoor public places. People can still buy, use, and smoke products, just not where their use will expose others.

• HB245 clarifies language in line with the intent of the Utah Indoor Clean Air Act (UICAA) to prevent secondhand exposure to toxins in the indoor public places that Utahns patronize every day. Without this bill, hookah and e-cigarette use will be allowed in all indoor public places from restaurants to libraries to healthcare facilities.

•  The UICAA prohibits tobacco smoke in indoor public places. It has since 1995. Further UICAA amendments passed by the legislature phased out smoking in bars and clubs in 2006 and 2007.

• The science is clear. Decades of research corroborate the fact that secondhand smoke is toxic.

•  Utahns support these protections. Preliminary data show an overwhelming majority of Utah adults support the Utah law that bans tobacco smoke in indoor public places, including restaurants and bars. More than three fourth of Utahns are in favor of banning tobacco smoke from hookah in the same locations.

• Cities, states, and countries all over the world are restricting exposure to hookah and e-cigarettes to protect health. Even India, the birthplace of hookah, has banned use in indoor public places, including use in so-called hookah bars. 

• The Indoor Clean Air Act must continue to protect Utahns from emerging products in the same way the Act has always protected the health of Utahns.

The World Health Organization (WHO) and the American Lung Association recommend that tobacco smoke from hookahs be treated the same as smoke from other tobacco products and be prohibited in the same places.  

To learn more about these issues, read:

• http://www.tobaccofreeutah.org/pdfs/shs_hookah-e-cigarette.pdf

• http://www.tobaccofreeutah.org/pdfs/Hookah.pdf

• http://www.tobaccofreeutah.org/pdfs/E-Cigarette1.pdf

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.