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

Surveys and Town Hall Meetings!

Hey everyone!

The Democrat Party has a survey online to learn about the important issues of their constituents. One of the questions deal with the bill regarding smoking in cars with children. Please take the survey and vote in favor! At the end it asks for any comments, so reiterate the importance of this bill there! You can find the survey HERE!

Next, there are some town hall meetings coming up, in which you can talk with legislators! Please attend one (or many!) to let them know how you feel about tobacco, i.e., smoking in cars with children, flavored tobacco, and funding for the Tobacco Prevention and Control Program. Here are the dates:

Saturday, Feb 12:
- Sen. Davis & Reps. Cosgrove, Wiley, Wheatley, and Hemingway
   9am, Desert Star Theater, Murray, UT 84107
- Sen. Mayne & Rep Hendrickson
   12pm, Eddie P. Mayne Kearns Senior Center, Kearns, UT 84118

Tuesday, February 15:
- Sen. Pat Jones & Rep. Cosgrove
   7pm, Murray High School Choral Room, Murray, UT 84107

Thursday, February 17:
- Sen. Ben McAdams & Rep. Joel Briscoe
   7pm, Tenth East Senior Center, SLC, UT 84102

Cigarette Branding

Not much to say today, other than a little story:

Once upon a time, I visited my favorite website, fastcodesign.com. While there, I found an interesting article on cigarette branding. It was a great approach to a constant discussion in tobacco prevention. At the end of the article, it had a link to another interesting article about a tactic to discourage smoking. Take a look.

Gotta love designers.

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.