Tobacco Documents Online

4 0 BLUEPRINT FOR SUCCESS ~ Aw COUNTDOWN ~ 2 0 0 0 ... © . TEN YEARS TO A TOBACCO-FREE AMERICA 1- • ( AMERICAN T CANCER SOCIE7'Y' ~ AmeTican Heart m Association w 0 t AMERI CAN ~' LUNG ASSOCIATION as S,°al People E e Christm _ Th e

• COUNTDOWN 2000 BLUEPRINT FOR SUCCESS Contents Drafting Committee i Preface iii Introduction vi Targeted Populations: Youth, Minorities, Women and the Educationally Disadvantaged 1 Tobacco Excise Taxes: Raising the Cost of Tobacco 10 Restrictions on Smoking in Public Places 16 Sources of Additional Information 22 Conference Copy September 11, 1990 I I

• COUNTDOWN 2000 BLUEFRINT FOR SUCCESS Drafting Committee . ! Charles A. LeMaistre, M.D., Chair President, University of Texas M.D. Anderson Cancer Center, Houston, Texas TARGETED POPULATIONS: YOUTH, MINORITIES, WOMEN AND THE EDUCATIONALLY DISADVANTAGED Reed V. Tuckson, M.D., Subcommittee Chair Volunteer, American Lung Association Senior Vice President for Programs, March of Dimes, White Plains, New York Former Commissioner, District of Columbia Public Health Commission, Washington, DC Scott D. Bailin, J.D., Vice President, Public Affairs and Legislative Counsel American Heart Association, Washington, DC Richard Hamburg, National Affiliate Legislative Coordinator, American Heart Association, Washington, DC Steve Largent, Communications Director, American Heart Association, Utah Affiliate, Salt Lake City, Utah Joe Patterson, Director of Public Education, Division Services, Government Relations and Special Projects, American Cancer Society, Atlanta, Georgia TOBACCO EXCISE TAXES: RAISING THE COST OF TOBACCO Mary Sandberg, Subcommittee Chair Assistant Director of Public Issues, American Cancer Society, California Division, Los Angeles, California Carl Booberg, Executive Director, American Lung Association of Virginia, Richmond, Virginia Harry Holmes, Ph.D., Director of Governmental Relations, University of Texas, M.D. Anderson Cancer Center, Houston, Texas John H. Madigan, Jr., Assistant Vice President, Public Affairs, American Cancer Society, Washington, DC t

RESTRICTIONS ON SMOKING IN PUBLIC PLACES Hon. Alexander "Pete" Grannis, Subcommittee Chair New York State Assemblyman, New York, New York Fran Du Melle, Director, Office of Government Relations, American Lung Association, Washington, DC Russell Hinz, Manager, Health Care Policy, American Lung Association/American Thoracic Society, Office of Government Relations, Washington, DC John Pinney, Corporate Health Policies Group, Washington, DC Former Executive Director, lnstitute for the Study of Smoking Behavior and Policy, Harvard University, Cambridge, Massachusetts Dorothy Stake, Volunteer, Member, National Public Issues Committee, American Cancer Society, Lennox, South Dakota ADVOCACY Patricia M. Hudgins, Ph.D., Subcommittee Chair Volunteer, American Heart Association Kirksville College of Osteopathic Medicine, Kirksville, Missouri Angela T. Mickel, Director, Tobacco-Free America Legislative Clearinghouse, Washington, DC Michael Pertschuk, Co-Director, The Advocacy Institute, Washington, DC • • • ii

• • COUNTDOWN 2000 BLUEPRINT FOR SUCCESS Preface In recent decades, the U.S. tobacco manufacturers have spent untold billions of dollars to protect and expand the sales of their addictive and deadly products. These unconscionable peddlers of destruction pose an enormous and well-financed challenge to voluntary health agencies. And yet, In the face of nearly overwhelming odds, the tide of public opinion has been turned by scientific facts and by a strong coalition of tobacco-control forces who are as creative as the tobacco marketers, and even more energetic. Having led the way in this battle during the past decade at the national level as the Coalition on Smoking Or Health, the American Cancer Society, American Heart Association and American Lung Association united as Tobacco Free America (TFA), now bring important additional resources to a growing trend evidenced in states and localities across the nation. Our course of action for the 1990s will be set at Countdown 2000, a landmark conference in Washington, DC, on September 9-11, 1990. Countdown 2000, sponsored by Tobacco-Free America and its member organizations, will develop the strategy and enhance the skills needed by state and local voluntary leaders in their pursuit of a tobacco- free America by the year 2000. Essential to the achievement of this goal is the release of this Blueprint for Success. The document is an action plan for achieving consistent nationwide policy in states and localities. It provides guidelines to address the following three major tobacco issues: 1) marketing targeted at special populations, 2) tobacco excise taxes and 3) restrictions on smoking in public places. This draft will eventually form the basis for achieving the goals we share for the year 2000. Following are summaries of recommendations for the three primary issues. tn Targeted Populations o . a~ The tobacco industry has long targeted youth, women, minorities and the educationally disadvantaged ~ u0 • through massive advertising and publicity campaigns needed to replace the thousands of consumers ~ iii

lost each year as smokers die from smoking-related illnesses or decide to kick their habit. The report of this subcommittee clearly identifies the tactics used by tobacco companies to target population groups with sophisticated market research and advertising. The subcommittee makes a number of recommendations to curb these efforts. Included are severe limitations on sales and access of tobacco products, tobacco education for children in grades K-12, tobacco-counter promotion for youth and minorities and the creation of state offices on tobacco and health. The subcommittee also proposes a modification in the Public Health Cigarette Act of 1969 to allow states to take more effective action in curbing cigarette advertising. Existing constitutional authority allows a ban on most promotional activities. This subcommittee argues that states and local entities must 'regulate what the tobacco industry has failed to do on its own." Tobacco Excise Taxes The subcommittee on tobacco excise taxes reviews well-known studies and data analyzing taxes as deterrents to smoking, particularly for young Americans who never have used tobacco. Recognizing that most revenue generated by increased tobacco excise taxes is needed by the states for general purposes, the subcommittee recommends that a portion be devoted to health care goals such as prevention, education, media campaigns and smoking cessation. A primary focus of any excise tax increase should be to apply that increase to all tobacco products. The subcommittee also recommends that the Tobacco-Free America Legislative Clearinghouse serve as a key resource center too help states increase their tobacco excise taxes. Restrictions on Smoking In Public Places The subcommittee on smoking in public places has developed a strong set of recommendations for consolidating and strengthening state and local smoking-control efforts. To achieve the Countdown 2000 goals, the subcommittee specifies the following minimum standards: smoking should be prohibited in child day care centers, on school property, in all public and private work places, In retail stores, In health care facilities and on any form of public transportation. Most other indoor areas open to the public would be smoke-free under these proposals. Restaurants would provide smoke-free space based • S IV

~ on the ratio of nonsmokers to smokers. Any state-level preemption provision must be opposed because it would preclude potentially stronger action in localities. Finally, the subcommittee opposes statutes providing civil rights protection for smokers. The Challenge Ours is not an easy task. We have a great deal more to do to assure that our nation enters the next century free from the deadly scourge of tobacco. More than 50 million Americans continue to smoke. Many young people - seduced by the allure of tobacco advertising and promotion at vulnerable points In their lives - take up the addicting habit every day. To help people stop smoking - and keep countiess others from starting - state and iocaf advocacy efforts of the ACS, AHA and ALA must be strengthened. While we have reason to celebrate our numerous victories, we cannot rest. Our strength lies not only in our resolve to preserve and promote public health, but also in our'naturai resources,' the millions of dedicated volunteers who lend their time, talents and services to our effort. ~ Our objective in releasing this Blueprint for Success is to provide a focal point for public policy action over the next ten years and beyond. Our plan requires a full commitment to tobacco-control advocacy from each organization and at all levels. Material and human resources dedicated to this effort must be increased, and the commitment of both volunteers and professional staff further encouraged, supported and rewarded. Most importantly, the journey ahead will take commitment, resources and brainpower. This conference will be a catalyst for action in that quest. - Charles A LeMaistre, M.D. ~ 0 0

Introduction The American Cancer Society, American Heart Association and American Lung Association began working together in the early 1960s to educate Americans about the serious health hazards associated with tobacco use. In 1985, the three agencies created Tobacco-Free America (TFA), and Its programs, induding the Smoke-Free Class of 2000, Tobacco-Free Schools and the Legislative Clearinghouse, to meet the following three specific goals: • to form strong state and local coalitions of the three agencies to focus the attention of legislators, regulators and other public officials, as well as the general public, on the health hazards of tobacco use and the need for enactment of tobacco-control legislation; • to foster public perception that smoking is a socially unacceptable behavior and encourage smokers to quit and young persons not to start; and • to attain a smoke-free society by the year 2000, as called for by former U.S. Surgeon General C. Everett Koop. The TFA Legislative Clearinghouse was established to help achieve TFA's goals for tobacco- control advocacy, by serving as an information bank and advisory resource to the state and local offices of the three organizations, as well as to government agencies, private citizens and corporations and the media. The Clearinghouse monitors state and local tobacco-control legislation and regulations and analyzes trends and effects of the information collected. This information is used to - • advise and assist coalitions and agencies in formulating and implementing strategies for Involvement in tobacco-control advocacy; • develop and update model guidelines, legislation and testimony for use by state and local agencies and coalitions to facilitate tobacco-control advocacy; • compile public attitude surveys, cost-benefit analyses, fact sheets and scientific studies for use by coalitions and agencies; and • educate volunteers and staff of TFA's member organizations. The work of the Clearinghouse enables the three agencies to adopt a unified approach to tobacco-control advocacy and to learn from and respond to tobacco industry tactics used across the country. If the tobacco-control movement is to achieve its public policy goals ir1 the last decade of the 20th century, the advocacy efforts of the ACS, AHA and ALA must be strengthened and better coordinated. While the economic dominance held by the tobacco industry has proved to be a significant • • • vi

• barrier in our battle for public health, it is in no way impenetrable. The strength of our organizations lies not only in our commitment to the preservation and promotion of public health, but ~uso In the over 5 million persons who volunteer their services. Currently, one may question whether our grassroots are not merely Astroturf, an artificial roster of volunteers who may or may not respond to a call for action. We are most effective when we have a core group of dedicated advocates who will act on a moment's notice. In the wake of major tobacco- control victories, such as the passage of the New York State Clean Indoor Air Act and the overwhelming approval by California voters of Proposition 99, the ballot initiative that Increased the state cigarette excise tax by 25 cents, there have also been setbacks. For instance, Colorado, Kentucky, Oregon, Tennessee and Virginia enacted anti-discrimination protections for smokers by prohibiting employers from establishing as a condition of employment that employees and prospective employees must be nonsmokers; thus, putting smokers into a"protected" class. In addition, several states have adopted restrictions on smoking in public places that prevent localities from enacting further restrictions. These regressions, when viewed from a global perspective, signify a negative trend for the tobacco-control movement that began in the late 1980s, in spite of the great progress made during the bulk of that ~ decade. Our ability to organize, energize and mobilize our vast base of dedicated volunteers to affect public policy will determine our degree of success in the 1990s. Our objective in setting into motion this national 'plan of action' is for states and localities to use public policy to the fullest extent over the next ten years, and beyond, to achieve a tobacco-free society. This plan may be illusory without total commitment to tobacco-control advocacy from each organization, at all levels. To be successful in our campaign, the ACS, AHA and ALA must adopt tobacco-control advocacy as a major organizational priority and act accordingly. Public policy can have an enormous Impact on our efforts to eradicate the diseases upon which our organizations where founded. We must transcend turf battles, institutional rivalries, bureaucratic resistances and Intra- institutional inertia in the common pursuit of the overriding public goal. The movement needs both professional advocacy resources and dedicated, trained, empowered volunteers. To accomplish these goals, we need mutual commitment and support at the local, state and national levels; a coordinated strategic plan; Interactive communications networks; and advocacy training and skills building. Ln 0 To provide the necessary support and assistance to achieve the objectives in the Blueprint for ~ co Vii Y Q N

Success, two management goals must be adopted to reaffirm commitment to public policy advocacy for tobacco-control and to continuing and expanding the TFA Legislative Clearinghouse as a resource for the respective ACS, AHA and ALA field organizations. GOAL #1: Acceptance and affirmation that public policy advocacy Is absolutely essential to fulfill the mission of health promotion and disease prevention through tobacco- control regulation stated by the American Cancer Society, American Heart Association and American Lung Association. • National, state and local boards should adopt tobacco-control advocacy as a priority. This action requires the education of volunteer boards as to the efficacy of tobacco-control advocacy as a way to achieve the overall mission of our respective organizations. • Staff and resources of national, state and local agencies must be dedicated to the political education, recruitment, confidence-building and institutional recognition of their volunteer members who advocate tobacco-control policies at each level of government. . Tobacco-control advocacy committees must be organized, or strengthened, at all levels to reflect a clear priority within the organizations. • Staff positions of experienced government relations/public affairs professionals must be created at the state level. • State and local coalitions must be organized or strengthened with the following: added human and financial resources; aggressive outreach to new and potential alliances. We must reach out to and enlist in our quest other sectors that have a vested interest In tobacco reguiations,-such as: Consumer groups Environmental groups Minority groups Older Americans Women's groups Educational groups Civic and community organizations State and local governments Youth groups Non-tobacco related businesses Unions Health professionals' groups Smokers for tobacco-control Religious organizations Unlikely allies Other professional associations Political parties Sports organizations Celebrities Arts and cultural organizations Insurance companies Victims professional advocacy personnel; and strategic planning and communications capability. Y ~ (0 F- Q W viii