Smoke-free bill (AB 253) scheduled for public hearing next week!

The smoke-free bill has been officially introduced and assigned a number - Assembly Bill 253 - and will receive a public hearing next week Wednesday, May 6 at 10:00 a.m. in Rm. 412 East of the State Capitol!

Mark your calendar! This is the most important opportunity we will have to show our support for the legislation. Click here to let us know if you'll be attending the public hearing.

Back to Basics: Interactive Human Body Map of Smoking's Effects

Need to brush up on the basic facts about smoking and its effects on the human body? Check out the CDC's interactive human body map, based on the Surgeon General's 2004 Report - The Health Consequences of Smoking. (Flash and html versions available.)

Click below to view the videos!

Why telling your personal story to your elected representatives makes a difference...

Because they DO pay attention and you deserve a response!

This image is a copy of the note President Obama wrote in response to Michael Powers's letter about his dad's lung cancer death 30 years ago. Read more about his story and letter at the Chicago Sun Times online.

E-cigarettes: Harm reduction or just another dangerous product?

A recent call to our office prompted us to look further into the emerging issue of "e-cigarettes."

A group of public health advocates has urged the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to pull e-cigarettes (or electronic cigarettes) from sale in the United States.

Right now, e-cigarettes can be purchased in kiosks across the country and on the Internet. The FDA has not approved the use of e-cigarettes and there are no controls to monitor the age of purchasers. E-cigarettes are often made to look like conventional tobacco products and are marketed to kids by producing them in fruit flavors.

A united group of public health advocates, including the American Cancer Society Cancer Action Network, American Heart Association, American Lung Association and the Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids, sent out a press release commending Senator Frank Lautenberg of New Jersey for demanding that the FDA remove e-cigarettes from the marketplace. FDA officials have been quoted in the past few weeks saying e-cigarettes are a "new drug" that needs to be approved by the government before it can be sold.

An excerpt from the press release:

"Makers and retailers of these products have been making unproven health claims about their products, claiming that they are safer than normal cigarettes and asserting that they can help people to quit smoking. Absent scientific evidence, these claims are in blatant violation of FDA rules."

Check back for updates!

Smoke-free stand-alone bill circulating for co-sponsors

Senators Risser and Ellis and Representatives Richards and A. Ott are circulating a stand-alone smoke-free bill for co-sponsorship today. Deadline for your legislator to sign on is Wednesday of next week.

Ask your legislator to co-sponsor the smoke-free bill here: http://tinyurl.com/cmgyww [no longer active]
UPDATE: Ask your legislator to vote for AB 253 here: http://tinyurl.com/cna5f6

*Note: this does not mean the smoke-free workplaces provision is being removed from the budget - at this point it remains in the budget bill but is now also going through a separate bill process.