State Update
 | April 11, 2007
Tennessee Town Hall Meeting:
State of Tobacco
Video Clip: Bob Pritchard, Southeast Regional Director of The Smoker's Club, Inc.
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Watch WATE.com videos until May 24.
State of Tobacco part one: the governor's proposals
State of Tobacco part two: businesses with bans
State of Tobacco part three: comparing Tenn. to rest of U.S.
State of Tobacco part four: smoke-free workplace opponents
State of Tobacco part five: final questions
No progress on workplace smoking ban in House NASHVILLE, Tenn. The tobacco-friendly Tennessee House Agriculture Committee made little progress today in deciding the fate of several proposals to impose a workplace smoking ban in Tennessee. House Agriculture Chairman Stratton Bone of Lebanon, a former tobacco farmer, said the committee wanted to hear one more round of explanations from various bill sponsors and that the panel would vote on the measures in the coming weeks. House Majority Leader Gary Odom of Nashville is carrying Governor Bredesen's proposal to ban workplace smoking. Odom said the measure seeks to protect employees and customers from the dangers of secondhand smoke. Read
Tenn. First Lady leading smoking ban statewide tour 4/2/07
NASHVILLE, Tenn. Tennessee First Lady Andrea Conte and other advocates of a bill that would ban smoking in the workplace plan to push for the legislation's passage in a statewide tour. Advocates will kick off the tour today with a rally outside the Capitol, while Conte will lead a rally supporting the bill in Memphis on Thursday at the newly smoke-free Rendezvous restaurant. Governor Phil Bredesen put forth the proposal, which would ban smoking -- with some exceptions -- in all enclosed public places and places of employment with two or more employees, including all restaurants and bars. The bill would also prohibit smoking within 25 feet of entrances and windows of places required to be smoke-free. Under the bill, smoking in a nonsmoking area would be punishable by a fine of up to $50. A person who controls a place designated as nonsmoking under the law and who doesn't comply would be subject to a fine of up to $100 on the first violation. The bill has not moved since it was assigned to committees in the House and Senate shortly after the General Assembly convened in January. No hearings are currently scheduled. Read
Where Tobacco Ruled, Smoking Ban Gains Ground 3/12/07
By THEO EMERY ADAMS, Tenn., March 8 — A century ago, a battle called the Black Patch War raged across Robertson County, where Rick Gregory’s ancestors grew tobacco. In the vicious fight over prices, nightriders with rifles raided farms and dynamited equipment. Tobacco barns burned in the night, and salted beds lay fallow. That tobacco war ended long ago, but in recent years, the crop grown in places like Robertson County has fueled another battle, this time over smoking, that has reached far beyond the rich tobacco fields along the Kentucky border. Tennessee will probably become the first major tobacco-growing state to pass a comprehensive smoke-free-workplace law. Gov. Phil Bredesen, a Democrat, proposed the ban in February. He also wants to triple taxes on cigarette sales and to use some of the money for smoking prevention. The proposals show how far public policy toward smoking has shifted, even in tobacco-friendly Robertson County, Mr. Gregory said. Mr. Gregory, 56, worked in his family’s fields as a youngster and put himself through college on tobacco profits. Now a historian and a smoking opponent, he says the battle over tobacco is over. This year, he said, there will be none planted in his farm’s rich bottom along the banks of the Red River. “I think the fact that the governor will support a smoking ban shows not only the change that’s taking place in Robertson County, but the change that’s taking place in the state as a whole,” he said. “Politically it would have been suicide, until fairly recently.” Mr. Bredesen said he proposed the ban because he felt the time was right. The harmful effects of smoking are well documented, he said, and tobacco’s declining clout in the state has now made it possible. “It’s something you couldn’t have done in Tennessee a decade ago,” Mr. Bredesen said. “I think people are ready for it. Everything is not seen through the prism of being a tobacco state.” The legislation is expected to pass this year because of its support — if qualified — in the General Assembly from both the House speaker and Senate president, and important business groups, including the Tennessee Chamber of Commerce. Not everyone, however, is thrilled. Paul McKinney, who grows only a small amount of tobacco on his farm, compared the proposal to forbidding alcohol and unhealthy foods. “I can see raising the tax and getting more money,” Mr. McKinney said, “but if you’re planning on just banning tobacco altogether, you’re killing the goose that’s laying the golden egg.” Tennessee’s dependence on tobacco has made the state one of the most hostile in the nation to tobacco regulation. As antismoking laws spread, Tennessee has given free rein to smokers. The only restriction aside from a few local regulations is a year-old ban on smoking in state buildings. Washington, D.C.; Puerto Rico; and 22 states have passed bans on smoking in bars, restaurants, or all workplaces. The top tobacco growing states — North Carolina, Kentucky, Tennessee, Virginia and South Carolina — have not passed such legislation, according to Americans for Nonsmokers’ Rights, an advocacy group based in Berkeley, Calif. “What’s exciting here is that we’re seeing more activity in what is traditionally tobacco country,” said Annie Tegen, senior program manager for the group. “Times are definitely changing, and just because they grow tobacco there does not mean that they’re not going to take public health seriously.” Gary Nolan, a spokesman for the Smokers’ Club, a national property rights group, said the possibility of such a law in a tobacco state is unusual, but not surprising. Tobacco, Mr. Nolan said, is the “enemy du jour” for smoking opponents, who he called “antis.” Tobacco’s falling fortunes can be seen in Tennessee’s annual crop statistics. The state’s peak tobacco year — for both burley, a light-colored tobacco used for cigarettes, and dark-fired tobacco used for dipping — was 1982, when farmers harvested 178 million pounds valued at nearly $307 million, data from the federal Department of Agriculture show. In 1999, the harvest was 122 million pounds, valued at $239 million. After a 2005 federal tobacco buyout compensated growers who backed out of the industry, farmers last year harvested 49 million pounds, worth $93 million, the statistics show. The state agriculture commissioner, Ken Givens, a former tobacco farmer who once headed the Agriculture Committee in the State House of Representatives, said there had been a sea change in tobacco’s role in state politics. As recently as 10 years ago, politicians seeking to regulate tobacco could expect to be pilloried. “The profitability is gone,” Mr. Givens said, “and a lot of farmers have simply exited the program and are not doing it anymore, so it’s not like a golden crop.” In times past, tobacco was the economic engine in places like Robertson County. Visitors to Springfield, the county seat, about 30 miles north of Nashville, drove beneath enormous archways on the city’s north and south sides that read “World’s Finest Dark Fired Tobacco.” The signs are gone, and around the city rolling farmland once famous for the quality of its tobacco is sprouting residential neighborhoods, the deep red dirt smoothed into future lawns around neat rows of new homes. In Springfield, the Courthouse Cafe faces the town’s historic square. On a recent afternoon, about half the customers smoked as they chatted around tables and along the lunch counter. Gwen Copeland, a 52-year-old waitress, slid into a bright yellow booth and lighted a Kool Mild 100, leaning over for spoonfuls of sundae offered by a customer’s young daughter. Ms. Copeland does not feel any ambivalence about the proposal. “Well, I think it’s a free country, and I should be able to smoke if I want to,” she said, adding, “It used to be a free country. Now you can’t do anything.” A few doors away, tobacco is the centerpiece of the Robertson County History Museum. An exhibit displays photos of tobacco barns and warehouses, antique pouches and cigarette tins, and an 1892 Winchester nightrider rifle. A plaque on the wall reads, in part, “Robertson County can always remember when tobacco was king.” A museum employee, Peggy Mofield, leads the way to the museum’s basement, flicking on overhead lights to show more relics: an old desk from a tobacco company, a sheaf of dried leaves on top, and a low hand cart called a duckbill beside it, piled with baskets stenciled with the words “tobacco pride.” Ms. Mofield, 72, said she quit smoking 20 years ago for health reasons. She agreed that a tobacco ban in Tennessee would have been unthinkable a few years ago. But the grip of tobacco companies has weakened, she said, and knowledge about smoking’s harmful effects has widened. Tapping her temple with her index finger, she smiled and said, “We’re getting smarter.” Read
 Some say tobacco laws would stink Smokers, retailers worry about effects of proposed tax increase, smoking bans Maryville resident Bob Pritchard never thought he would feel like a "second-class citizen" for smoking in Tennessee, a state with its roots buried in tobacco fields. Pritchard, Southeast regional director of The Smokers' Club Inc., said he now feels like he and other state smokers have little power against the proposals in the Tennessee Legislature to increase the cigarette tax and further regulate where people can smoke. And don't look for a lot of lobbying clout from farmers, either. University of Tennessee agricultural economist Kelly Tiller said Tennessee's tobacco farmers produce only a fraction of what they did in the mid-1990s. "The policy environment is very different," she said. State tobacco production began to decline decades ago. In 2005, most of the state's farmers opted to take their share of a federal $10 billion burley tobacco buyout. "We have a lot less data available, but by most estimates, probably two-thirds to three-fourths of our tobacco producers are no longer producing tobacco," Tiller said. Fewer people may be smoking, too, if Gov. Phil Bredesen's proposed 40-cent cigarette tax increase passes, Tiller said. Her study of the proposed tax increase, which could produce an estimated $220 million in new revenue in 2008, reports that "smoking rates decline as the retail price of a pack of cigarettes increases." But longtime smokers won't stop, Pritchard said. "Prohibition didn't work against alcohol," Pritchard said. "It won't work against smoking."
'It's going to hurt'
A tax increase will be bad for businesses that sell cigarettes, according to Stacey Coleman, manager of Wholesale Tobacco & Beverage Co. on Whittle Springs Road. "It's going to hurt," she said. "I've had a couple of people come in and say they're going to quit." The cheapest pack of cigarettes in Coleman's store is $1.63. Even an additional 40 cents on that price adds up for low-income people, she said. One of Coleman's customers spends about $200 on cigarettes a month; the added tax for that customer would up the price by $16. Pritchard said it angers him that the state may use a regressive tax, which disproportionately impacts low- and middle-income people, to fund education. "We opt to use a legal product, but they want to tax it more to help fund schools," Pritchard said. "I thought that's what the lottery was for." The governor's proposal would increase the cigarette tax from 20 cents to 60 cents per pack and funnel the new revenue into education programs, including those designed to inform residents about the dangers of smoking. Tennessee's doctors couldn't be happier about the tax, which will give smokers more incentive to quit, said Russ Miller, senior vice president of the Tennessee Medical Association. "It is an economic issue when it comes down to it," Miller said. "It becomes a deterrent." The national average for state cigarette taxes is $1 per pack. Only Missouri, Mississippi and South Carolina have lower cigarette tax rates than Tennessee's current 20 cents a pack, according to a study conducted by Ann Boonn for the Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids.
Who would regulate a ban?
Restaurant-goers may never again be asked to give their smoking preference at a hostess stand. A proposed statewide workplace smoking ban would stop all smoking in restaurants, bars and nightclubs.
If it passes, Pritchard said he would eat out less. Bill Baugh, president and CEO of Shoney's of Knoxville, said he fears ostracizing customers like Pritchard. Baugh, a smoker, said he already installed ceiling filters to clean and circulate air. "A lot of my restaurants have completely different areas for smokers," Baugh said. He said he fears the government taking decisions away from restaurant owners. "I think there can be too much restriction," Baugh said. Pritchard said he gets e-mails from nonsmokers who see the potential ban as a property-rights infringement. The Tennessee Restaurant Association, which represents 2,500 state restaurants, supports the statewide ban. But restaurateurs fear another proposal that would put the decision to regulate tobacco in local hands. "If the city of Knoxville were to develop something themselves, people would probably cross that line and go somewhere else to smoke," said Ronnie Hart, president and chief executive officer of the Tennessee Restaurant Association. "That's why we want it to be statewide." Ansley Haman may be reached at 865-342-6341. Read Bob Pritchard, Southeast regional director of The Smokers’ Club Inc., smokes a cigarette during lunch Monday at Shoney’s restaurant in Alcoa. Pritchard said he feels that he and other smokers have little power against state proposals for smoking bans and cigarette tax increases. Photo: JOE HOWELL. NEWS SENTINEL
Bredesen: Ban smoking at workDickson Herald - Dickson,TN,USA
The 132-member General Assembly would still have to sign off on Bredesen's smoking ban. The tobacco lobby has historically been powerful on Capitol Hill, ...
Possible Smoking Ban EffectsWDEF News 12 - Chattanooga,TN,USA
Foodworks' bartender Will Slawter says a smoking ban might actually have a positive affect on the number of customers he serves in a night. ...
Will Tennessee ban smoking at work?WDEF News 12 - Chattanooga,TN,USA
Lawmakers believe the mood among the public will push them to pass some form of smoking ban this session. But Republican leaders says there's more to ...
Jimmy Naifeh Won't Block Smoking BanMyFox Memphis - Memphis,TN,USA
Naifeh, D-Covington, as recently as last month said he thought a "pro-business attitude" in the Legislature would prevent an expansive smoking ban from ...
Bredesen gets behind ban Governor pushes for smokeless workplace, cigarette tax increase By ERIK SCHELZIG, Associated Press February 9, 2007 Read Dear Friend, Earlier this week, I stood before the General Assembly for a fifth time as Governor to deliver my State of the State address. My message Monday night was about educating our children - the most fundamental responsibility of state government. At its heart, my proposal challenges each of us - from the student to the teacher to the school to the state - to do things differently in four important ways. We must: Ensure our children are ready to learn; that they're healthy, that they are intellectually and socially prepared to be in the classroom.
Raise standards and expectations, not just for the college-bound, but for everyone.
Fund education properly and make sure the money goes where it makes a difference - in the classroom itself.
Make college more accessible and affordable.
To make these improvements a reality, I am calling for a 40-cent increase in the cigarette tax - a plan that will raise $219 million annually. The argument for a cigarette tax is straightforward: Our schools need more money. Already, we have received an enormous amount of positive feedback from folks on both sides of the political aisle and from all areas of the state. But big tobacco companies are already coming out in force against this plan, threatening to do everything in their power to stand in the way of anything that hurts their bottom line - we can't let this happen. We all talk the talk about improving public education; now we need to walk the walk as well. Our cigarette tax is among the lowest in the nation, and even after such an increase, we will still be well below the national average. Now, I need your help. Tennessee children need your help. Please contact your legislator and let them know you support our plan to improve education in our state - that you support an increase in the cigarette tax. Urge them to support it, too. It's an honor to serve as Governor of this great state, and I look forward to working with you on this and other important issues in the future. Warmest Regards, Phil To read my speech in its entirety, please visit here.
The new 'old boys club'
With cigars in hand and red meat on the table, Franklin men form social group 02/06/07
By CHARLES BOOTH, Staff Writer FRANKLIN — Brown paper covers the front of Gray's Drug Store, giving the impression that it's an abandoned building wedged among other businesses in downtown Franklin. But sometimes, people walking past the building see lights on inside and hear the chatter of several voices mingling together. If they could peek through that brown paper on those evenings, they'd see a smoke-filled room, where judges and business leaders talk over glasses of scotch. A few weeks ago, Matthew Keirns entered the building for the first time. He'd moved to Williamson County about six months ago, and he was looking to meet people in the area. He went inside the seemingly empty building and found a room with old shelving on the walls and a large, cherry wood bar in the center. "When you walk in, there's nothing else in there but the bar and the tables set up," Keirns said. "It's very nondescript. No frills." He had a drink and a cigar while talking with local judges, physicians, real estate developers and attorneys. Then they all sat down to dinner. "It's an excellent networking opportunity," he said, but he added later that it was the socializing that will likely bring him back to the drug store. And he's not alone. The meetings started last fall as an informal gathering of men, but as more people showed up to smoke cigars and eat 16-ounce steaks, some of the organizers decided to make it more official. Thus, the Downtown Franklin Men's Club was born. Fees to be about $1,000 On a Wednesday afternoon in January, Ralph Drury stopped by Sandy's Downtown Grille for lunch and to talk about the men's club. He's had the idea of starting a men's club in Franklin for years, he said, but it didn't really take shape until he went to a gathering of men at a friend's house. The purpose was to smoke cigars and socialize. "It went over so well at his house, we said, 'OK, let's get together and have another one,' " Drury said. "Then we said, 'Let's start a men's club. Let's organize this thing." So they filed corporate papers and distributed applications to potential members. Membership will be about $1,000 to join, plus yearly dues, but Drury said the finances still need to be ironed out. "Applications were distributed at the meeting the other night, and we're going to take the first 100 that send in an application," he said. He stopped himself when he saw Ken Bennett sit down at the bar. He waved him over and told Bennett to say something about the club. "Ralph and I are not representative of the men's club. There are some decent folks there," he said, laughing. He pointed to a flier in front of Drury advertising the club's Super Bowl party. On it is a picture of a woman in a skimpy outfit holding a football. Bennett joked that some of the guys in the club got carried away designing the flier. But Drury quickly defended the club, pointing out, "It says spouses are welcome." That isn't always the rule because this is a men's club, where men can be men. That includes smoking cigars, eating hunks of red meat and drinking beer or scotch. "We always have a big piece of red meat. A huge, quality piece," Drury said. "We have a jazz guitarist that plays for us. We have a young guy that is a masseur so if you want a back rub down we have that. We have plenty of scotch and other drinks. Then we have the dinner." Plans call for new building Drury said Gray's Drug Store has been a great place to meet, but his vision for the club has a more elegant atmosphere than the empty drug store. "I'm building an office building, or I've been trying to build an office building, so the club is leasing 2,000 square feet for that. On Ninth Avenue," he said. In this space, Drury said they'll have a $20,000 kitchen donated by Viking, a stocked bar, a 62-inch plasma television and 24-hour cardkey access by members. "The new club will have a lot of wood and leather, even a fireplace. Humidors. Everything is going to be very upscale, very elegant in the club," he said. He sees it as a place where members can come after work and sit, read the paper, have a drink or watch sports on television. Future city club in works The club is already starting to get some publicity outside of Franklin. The magazine Cigar Aficionado recently included a picture of the men's club standing behind the bar set up inside Gray's Drug Store. In the picture, the men are wearing hats advertising CAO Cigars, the company that sponsors some of the meetings. But Bennett insists it isn't just about smoking and socializing. He says those are important aspects of the club, but that the group also plans to give back to the community. "We'll work for a cause to take on and help the community," he said. "We've got all that brain power there to get people involved and give back to the community. Franklin is growing, and we all want to be a part of that." The group is also looking to someday expand beyond just a men's club. Drury said they've already registered the name Franklin City Club, which is what he hopes the gatherings will evolve into. "We'll be the Franklin Men's Club to get settled in, and a year or two from now, if we think Franklin needs a city club, then we got the name and we've got it incorporated under the city club," he said. "We hope to do that in 18 to 24 months. We'll still have our men's night, but women can have their night too." A waitress took Drury's bowl and he leaned back in his seat. He looked relaxed and maybe a little tired. But a smile quickly flashed across his face. "People hear the words 'men's club,' and they think you're up to no good," he said. Read
Allowing local smoking ban may require lawmakers to reverse votes 3 February 2007 NASHVILLE, Tenn. Allowing a local smoking ban in Tennessee may require some state legislators to reverse previous votes. A bill in the Legislature would rescind a state law that prevents local governments from enacting smoking bans. Thirteen years ago, 33 lawmakers still serving in the 133-member Legislature voted on a bill that created the single statewide standard on smoking laws. Anti-smoking bills have traditionally struggled in Tennessee, one of the nation's top tobacco-producing states. But tobacco production dropped by half with a decade of the 1994 law's passage. And lawmakers last year passed a measure to ban smoking in state-owned and operated buildings, creating an opening for wider smoking ban initiatives. Read
TO: The Gaylord Opryland Hotel
DATE: January 14, 2007
I got online to book 3 rooms for our company, for our convention Feb 1st & noticed all your rooms are now non-smoking. This is a change from the last time we were at your facility.
No problem, I booked our stay in Nashville at another hotel up the road that still has smoking rooms and is very happy to take a few thousand dollars from us.
If the convention committee ever decides to hold another convention at your hotel we will not attend.
If I understand correctly, YOU STILL SELL & PROFIT FROM ALCOHOL & TOXIC FOOD FAT POISONS at you hotel, it's just the smoker's you discriminate against, or do you also discriminate against blacks, gay's, Jew's and overweight folk's who damage your bed's & furniture with their weight, etc... Needless to say, we WILL NOT spend any money at your hotel while attending convention meetings.
I will contact the "Smoker-Right's" groups & inform them of your policy, so we can properly list your hotel on "our" discriminate list.
Harry Danik
Cleveland, Ohio
Bredesen sympathetic to workplace smoking ban January 09, 2007
Michael Davis NASHVILLE — Gov. Phil Bredesen said Tuesday he is “sympathetic” toward an expected proposal that would ban smoking in Tennessee’s workplaces. “I think it is a legitimate public health thing to consider,” Gov. Bredesen said during a meeting at the Capitol with the Chattanooga Times Free Press. Gov. Bredesen also said that he supports an increase in the cigarette tax and would like to direct revenue generated from a hike toward a couple of specific policy areas, instead of using it for a number of different purposes. He did not say where he would apply the funds. “I’d like to substantially change a couple of things,” he said. Read
There are 2 Senate bills on the Tennessee Gov pages. The first changes State Annotated Code to not allow smoking where minors are allowed in. The second is a outright tax increase it seems of $1.00 per pack or $10.00 per carton. The Tennessee General Assembly http://www.legislature.state.tn.usBill HB0019 by Shepard. SB0016 by Jackson ReadRestaurants - Prohibits smoking in restaurants to which children are allowed access. - Amends TCA Title 39, Chapter 17, Part 16.
Naifeh not fired up to regulate smoking at work By John Rodgers, jrodgers@nashvillecitypaper.comJanuary 04, 2007 House Speaker Jimmy Naifeh appeared cool Wednesday to snuffing out smoking in private businesses like bars and restaurants, a topic that will likely receive attention during the upcoming legislative session. In a pre-session press conference with Capitol Hill reporters, Naifeh (D-Covington) appeared to side with the argument that regulating smoking in private businesses unduly restricts business owners. “A lot of folks like the idea of letting the business owner decide that on their own,” Naifeh said. Naifeh, a businessman, said his businesses are smoke free and he posts no-smoking signs. Gov. Phil Bredesen is in favor of taking big steps to regulate smoking, however, in order to protect children. He has left the door open to proposing a cigarette tax increase. In a speech given last month, Bredesen offered a prelude to proposing some of his own ideas to cut smoking, the specifics for which he says he will announce in the coming month. “We need to do everything in our power to make sure our children don’t pick up a cigarette,” Bredesen said in a Dec. 4 speech, “and to make sure they’re protected from secondhand smoke.” “Adults make a choice to smoke – our children do not. This isn’t a war on smokers or the smoking industry, but it is a call to come together and do what we know is right.” While regulating smoking in private workplaces may not become law, Naifeh said the possibilities of raising the state’s cigarette tax this year are “positive,” but how much the tax should be hiked is “where the rub is.” The 105th General Assembly convenes Jan. 9. During last year’s session, several bills were killed, mostly in the House Agriculture Committee, which either outlawed smoking in restaurants or restored the local governments’ authority to restrict lighting up in certain places. One legislator described getting an anti-smoking bill through the tobacco-friendly House Agriculture Committee as “David vs. Goliath.” Naifeh’s apparent lack of support for regulating smoking may doom chances for widespread anti-smoking bills passing this year. The majority of bills don’t pass the Democrat-dominated House without his support. But many Tennesseans favor banning smoking in workplaces, according to an independent poll conducted for the American Cancer Society and released last month. The survey, which polled more than 600 registered voters throughout the state, reported that 73 percent either strongly or somewhat favored a law making all Tennessee workplaces smoke free in order to not be exposed to harmful second-hand smoke. In addition, 78 percent thought that nobody should be exposed to second-hand smoke while working. John Chiaramonte, a lobbyist for the American Cancer Society, said a bill to outlaw smoking in all workplaces in Tennessee has a “fair chance” of passing this year. “The issue is not privacy as much as it is protecting the public health,” Chiaramonte said. “And that’s our mission.” One anti-smoking bill did pass last year. The legislature outlawed smoking in state government buildings, including Legislative Plaza where many committee rooms and offices are stationed. Naifeh said passing that bill last year “surprised some people.” The state currently has a 20-cent-per-pack cigarette tax, which is the 47th lowest levy in the nation. Only Mississippi, Missouri and South Carolina, respectively, have lower levies. Wednesday, Sen. Rosalind Kurita (D-Clarksville), a nurse who pushed for a 71-cent cigarette tax increase last year, announced plans to sponsor a $1 cigarette tax increase this year. Read
House speaker opposes wider smoking bans 1/4/07
By ERIK SCHELZIG, Associated Press Writer A "pro-business attitude" in the state House will prevent further moves to limit indoor smoking in the upcoming legislative session, House Speaker Jimmy Naifeh said Wednesday. Anti-smoking bills have traditionally struggled in Tennessee, one of the nation's top tobacco-producing states, and have often died in the hostile House Agriculture Committee. But a measure to ban smoking in state-owned and operated buildings circumvented that committee last year and ultimately become law. "I think we surprised people last year when we passed the bill to prohibit smoking in state buildings," acknowledged Naifeh, a Covington Democrat. But that doesn't mean it will be easy going for new anti-smoking legislation. "Obviously there are more people who are opposed to stopping smoking everywhere, because a lot of folks have pro-business attitude," Naifeh said. It should be up to business owners to decide whether they want to ban smoking, Naifeh said, and it's up to nonsmoking employees and patrons to decide whether they want to avoid those businesses. "I presume that (an employee) would know that that place is a smoking establishment when they go get their job," he said. "It can be stopped if the owner of thatestablishment wants to make his business smoke-free. "I know that that's not the answer that a lot of people want, but that's the way it is," he said. Tennessee law currently prohibits local governments from even voting on a restaurant smoking ban. Naifeh declined to say whether he thinks that proposals to change that law will have a chance this year. "We've got 16 new members, and I don't know how those folks feel about the issues," he said. Naifeh said he would make committee appointments _ including the agriculture chairman _ next week. Democrats hold a 53-46 advantage in the House. Naifeh said his family-owned grocerystores in West Tennessee don't allow smoking. "If people want to smoke, they can go out back," he said. Read
Smoking Ban, Tort Reform Among Bills Proposed For Lawmakers 25 Dec 2006 Chattanooga, Tenn. -- Bills that would ban smoking in Tennessee's public buildings and address tort reform are among those health care groups plan to put before lawmakers when they reconvene next month for the new legislative session. Chastity Mitchell, the lobbyist contracted by the anti-tobacco Campaign for a Healthy & Responsible Tennessee, said the group is making progress on legislation that would ban smoking in all Tennessee workplaces, including bars and restaurants. During the last legislative session, lawmakers approved legislation that banned smoking in buildings owned and operated by the state. Mitchell said her organization is optimistic about the latest proposal. "With each and every new legislative session, we see added support for tobacco prevention measures," said Mitchell, adding that CHART also wants to see a hike in the tobacco tax, with the hope that revenue goes toward tobacco cessation and prevention programs. "I think that certainly mirrors the mood across the country." A survey released earlier this month showed many Tennessee residents would like to prohibit smoking in all the state's workplaces. Little Rock, Ark.-based Opinion Research Associates polled 600 registered voters on behalf of state health advocates and found that 73 percent of those surveyed said they favor a law making all Tennessee workplaces smoke-free. The survey said that 95 percent of respondents viewed secondhand smoke as at least some kind of health hazard and 93 percent said people should not be exposed to secondhand smoke in the workplace. In Tennessee, the Campaign for Tobacco Free Kids estimates that secondhand smoke causes about 1,000 deaths a year. In the case of tort reform, Katherine Moffat, spokeswoman for the Tennessee Health Care Association, which represents nursing homes and assisted-living facilities, said her group is part of a state coalition advocating for medical liability reform. Moffat said malpractice lawsuits are causing the facilities' insurance premiums to rise, forcing them to shift resources to pay for higher rates. Meanwhile, Gary Zelizer, director of government affairs for the Tennessee Medical Association, said he wants legislation to have a cap placed on non-economic damages, which are generally those awarded for pain and suffering. Zelizer said those are hard to determine, unlike lost pay, medical expenses and other economic damages, which he does not want to cap. He said the legislation also should include the mandate that an "expert witness" certify legal claims, which he believes would "eliminate a number of what we call meritless lawsuits." But Tennessee Bar Association Executive Director Allan Ramsaur said he's apprehensive about such legislation because it might "deprive people of the ability to get a full recovery" for losses. "We trust Tennessee judges and Tennessee juries to appropriately hold people accountable, and there's no evidence there's been a runway civil justice system," Ramsaur said. Read
Gov. makes smoke free legislation a priority
November 16, 2006
NASHVILLE -- Gov. Bredesen says he plans to make smoke-free environments, including workplaces, a legislative priority for the coming year.
According to the American Heart Association, nearly 50 percent of non-smoking adults report regular exposure to environmental tobacco smoke at home or work.
About 37,000 to 40,000 people die from heart and blood vessel disease caused by other people's smoke each year. Of these, about 35,000 nonsmokers die from coronary heart disease, including heart attacks.
Tennessee currently reports nearly 28 percent of all adults as smokers. This is nearly five percent above the national average of 23 percent.
Smoking is a major risk factor for cardiovascular disease and stroke, the number one and three killers of Tennesseans.
Currently Tennessee ranks third in the nation for deaths from heart disease, stroke and other cardiovascular disease. Read
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