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Curtis Tyler
From: "Joe Cherner" <Joe@smokefree.org>
To: "Joe Cherner announce list" <JOeCherner-announce@smokefree.net>
Sent: Thursday, July 03, 2003 2:44 PM
Subject: [JoeCherner-announcejUSA Today Editorial: Demand Fire-Safe Cigarette Law
According to the National Fire Protection Association, cigarette-caused fires are the nation's #1
cause of fire death, causing more than 1,000 civilian deaths, 3,000 critical injuries, and $400
million in property damage each year.
New York State passed fire-safe cigarette legislation two years ago, but has delayed issuing standards
which are necessary for implementation. To urge New York to issue fire-safe standards, go to
www.smokefree.org/fire
USA Today Editorial pgro 7~ r0"3
Demand Fire-Safe Cigarette Law ~°"ndl
During the last week of,iune, a 50-year-old Chicago woman, an elderly Tucson man and a paraplegic in
Austin died in smoking-caused fires. That same week, fires started by cigarettes forced evacuations and
caused injuries in Philadelphia. Rochester, N.Y., and New York City.
The rash of blazes was hardly unique: Smoking is the leading cause of fire death in the United States. In
the 1990s, smokers started 1.6 million fires that produced $4.5 billion in property damage and claimed
10,130 lives, according to the National Fire Protection Association.
In spite of that record, the tobacco industry for years has blocked federal proposals requiring cigarettes
to meet fire-resistant standards. Now the industry is fighting the first state regulations in the nation
setting such standards - a New York law passed in 2000. Though rules covering fire-sate cigarettes
were to take effect Tuesday, they have been delayed while regulators slog through reams of tobacco-
industry objections, ranging from costs to consumer acceptance.
Those baseless complaints merely mask Big Tobacco's real agenda: delaying or defeating every attempt
at federal and state regulation. Since the industry's clout has thwarted federal action to reduce smoking-
related fires, state regulation is not only appropriate but also essential.
The industry already has the ability to produce a cigarette that could help reduce a death toll that
includes many children. In 1999, 46 victims of fires linked to smoking were under ] 0.
In fact, many of the industry's objections have been shattered by its own research and findings. Among
them:
•Technology hurdles. While Big Tobacco argued that it couldn't make fir resistant cigarettes, Philip
Morris introduced one in 2000, when it changed the paper of its Merit brand. It hasn't done so with other
brands.
•Consumer resistance. The industry says consumers won't buy fire-safe cigarettes. Philip Morris says
that's the reason for the drop in Merit's sales after it replaced the cigarette's paper three years ago. Yet,
Merit sales were falling before then, and when Philip Morris first marketed the fire-resistant ve s~n
Comm. hlo•
Ref. Ta
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Page 2 of 2
Merit, it boasted that consumer reaction was "very positive."
Even when such arguments are knocked down, the industry raises new objections.
Philip Morris says national rules are needed because New York's strict standards will prompt consumers
to reject fire-resistant cigarettes and buy conventional brands available elsewhere. Brown & Williamson
argues that regulators should focus on making furniture and mattresses more fire-resistant. R.J.
says fire-safe cigarettes will encourage smokers to be more careless.
Certainly, smokers need to use cigarettes responsibly. And federal legislation setting national standards
for fire-resistant cigarettes is a better solution. But with that prospect unlikely any time soon, states can
begin to tackle the problem noN.
Each week, on average, 15 people die in smoking-related blazes.
That's a tragic count that the industry can help reduce - if its feet are held to the fire.
To send a letter in support of fire-safe cigarettes, go to www.smokefree.org/tire
Joseph W. Cherner, President
SmokeFree Educational Services, Inc.
http://wwwsmokefree.org
"Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful citizens can change the world. Indeed, it's the only thing
that ever has." Margaret Mead
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Curtis Tyler
From: "Joe Cherner" <Joe@smokefree.org>
To: "Joe Cherner announce list" <JoeCherner-announce@smokefree.net>
Sent: Thursday, July 03, 2003 3:48 AM
Subject: [JoeCherner-announce]Lexington (KY) Goes Smokefree
Lexington (KY) Goes Smokefree
Capital of Kentucky bans smoking in offices, restaurants, and bars
LEXINGTON, 7/3/03... On Monday, deep in the heart of tobacco country, Lexington (KY) voted 11-3
to make all offices, restaurants, and bars smokefree. The law will take effect in 90 days. Kentucky is
the second largest tobacco growing state in the U.S.
"It's nice to see that even in tobacco growing parts of the U.S., most people realize that ALL workers
(including office, restaurant, bar, bingo. bowling, racetrack, tavern, pub, and nightclub workers) deserve
a smokefree work environment," says Jue Cherner, president of SmokeFree Educational Services, Inc.
"It shows that tobacco no longer dominates Kentucky's economy or mentality."
Kentucky has one of the nation's worst rates of tobacco addiction and cancer.
"lt's another sign of the lack of influence of tobacco, even in tobacco country," said Scotty Baesler, a
former congressman and former Lexington mayor, as well as a tobacco farmer. "I don't think this could
have happened 10 years ago."
"Top U.S. tourist destinations have passed smokefree legislation, including New York. Los Angeles,
San Francisco, Boston, Dallas, Aspen, Honolulu, and Miami, showing that clean air is not only good for
health, but good for business," adds Cherner
Yesterday, smokefree Vancouver (Canada) was chosen as the site for the 2010 Winter Olympic Games,
another indication that smokefree laws attract business. Vancouver bans smoking in ALL workplaces,
including restaurants, bars, taverns, pubs, casinos, and nightclubs.
[f your city and/or state still allows smoking in the workplace, go to www.smokefree.org and send a
letter.
Joseph W. Cherner, President
SmokeFree Educational Services, Inc.
http://www.smoketree.org
"Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful citizens can change the world. Indeed, it's the only thing
that ever has." Margaret Mead
'1'o search the JoeCherner-announce archives, go to:
http J/sm okefree.nei/JoeCherner-an n oun ce. m essages
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7/7/03
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go to www.SmokefreeA ir.org and send a smokefree E~letter to a key decision maker.
Sent to ctyler@interpac.net
7/7/03