Election 2006: Beating Big Tobacco at the Ballot Box
2006 is the most important election year to date for ballot initiatives to reduce tobacco use and exposure to secondhand smoke. Voters in seven states will have the opportunity to approve statewide ballot measures to require smoke-free workplaces, increase state tobacco taxes or fund tobacco prevention programs. We need your help to pass these critical initiatives because the tobacco companies are fighting hard and spending tens of millions of dollars to defeat them. Big Tobacco is fighting these measures because they know that smoke-free laws, cigarette tax increases and tobacco prevention programs are highly effective at reducing smoking. Once again, Big Tobacco is putting its profits ahead of health and lives.
Click on the following summaries to learn more about these ballot initiatives and what you can do to support them:
Arizona Prop 201 – Vote Yes on Prop 201 for a Smoke-Free Arizona, No on Prop 206
Arizona Prop 203 – Vote Yes on Prop 203 to Increase the Cigarette Tax and Reduce Smoking
California Prop 86 – Vote Yes on Prop 86 to Increase the Cigarette Tax and Fund Tobacco Prevention
Florida Amendment 4 – Vote Yes on Amendment 4 to Increase Funding for Tobacco Prevention
Missouri Amendment 3 – Vote Yes on Amendment 3 to Increase Tobacco Taxes and Fund Tobacco Prevention
Nevada Question 5 – Vote Yes on Question 5 for a Smoke-Free Nevada, No on Question 4
Ohio Issue 5 – Vote Yes on Issue 5 for a Smoke-Free Ohio, No on Issue 4
South Dakota Measure 2 – Vote Yes on Measure 2 to Increase Tobacco Taxes and Fund Tobacco Prevention
Additional Information on Ballot Initiatives
Arizona – Vote Yes on Prop 201 for a Smoke-Free Arizona, No on Prop 206
Proposition 201, the Smoke-Free Arizona ballot measure, would make all Arizona workplaces, including restaurants and bars, smoke-free and protect the right of all Arizona workers and the public to breathe clean air. Prop 201 also provides for effective enforcement of the law and penalties for violations. Prop 201 is supported by the American Cancer Society, American Heart Association, American Lung Association, Tobacco-Free Kids Action Fund and other public health groups. More information
WARNING: Tobacco giant RJ Reynolds (RJR) has pledged to spend $40 million to defeat tobacco-related ballot measures in Arizona and other states this year. In an attempt to defeat the Arizona smoke-free initiative, RJR is sponsoring an alternative initiative, Proposition 206, that is a fake smoke-free law. Prop 206 claims to restrict smoking when in fact it would allow smoking in many restaurants and other workplaces, provide for no enforcement, roll back existing local smoke-free laws and prevent local governments from passing smoke-free laws in the future. This alternative initiative is being pitched to voters with a blatantly deceptive name: the “Arizona Non-Smoker Protection Act”. Don’t be fooled by Prop 206, the FAKE smoke-free initiative.
SPREAD THE WORD! Let your friends and family know about the important smoke-free law on the ballot on November 7! Tell a friend!
Arizona – Vote Yes on Prop 203 to Increase the Cigarette Tax and Reduce Smoking
Proposition 203 would increase Arizona’s cigarette tax by 80 cents per pack (and also increase the tax on other tobacco products) and utilize the revenue to fund early childhood development programs. According to numerous scientific studies, increasing the cigarette tax is one of the most effective ways to reduce smoking, especially among kids. More information
SPREAD THE WORD! Let your friends and family know about the important smoke-free law on the ballot on November 7! Tell a friend!
California – Vote Yes on Prop 86 to Increase the Cigarette Tax and Fund Tobacco Prevention
Proposition 86 would increase California’s cigarette tax by $2.60 per pack and use the revenue to fund tobacco prevention and cessation programs and other critical health programs such as health insurance for children, disease prevention, medical research and emergency room care. Increasing the cigarette tax and funding tobacco prevention and cessation programs are scientifically proven ways to reduce smoking, save lives and save money by reducing smoking-caused health care costs. According to the California Department of Health Services, Proposition 86 will prevent 700,000 kids from becoming adult smokers; prevent nearly 180,000 deaths due to smoking among California kids now under the age of 17; prevent approximately 120,000 additional deaths due to smoking among current California adult smokers who quit smoking; and save Californians $16 billion in health care costs. More information
WARNING: RJ Reynolds and Philip Morris are spending tens of millions of dollars to defeat Proposition 86 and are financing the No on Prop 86 campaign. The same tobacco companies that have lied to the American people for decades about their deadly and addictive products are now lying to the people of California to protect their profits.
SPREAD THE WORD! Let your friends and family know about the important smoke-free law on the ballot on November 7! Tell a friend!
Florida – Vote Yes on Amendment 4 to Increase Funding for Tobacco Prevention
Amendment 4 would require the Florida Legislature to annually fund a comprehensive, statewide tobacco education and prevention program, using tobacco settlement money and following the best practices of the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). Annual funding would be 15 percent of 2005 tobacco settlement payments to Florida, adjusted annually for inflation. Florida once had one of the nation’s most effective tobacco prevention programs, which reduced smoking by 58 percent among middle school students and 37 percent among high school students. However, in recent years, the Legislature has cut the program’s funding from $70 million a year to just $1 million in fiscal year 2006, which is barely one percent of the minimum amount the CDC recommends. In contrast, tobacco companies spend a billion dollars a year to market their products in Florida, much of it aimed at kids. More information
SPREAD THE WORD! Let your friends and family know about the important smoke-free law on the ballot on November 7! Tell a friend!
Missouri – Vote Yes on Amendment 3 to Increase Tobacco Taxes and Fund Tobacco Prevention
Amendment 3 would increase Missouri’s cigarette tax by 80 cents, from 17 cents to 97 cents per pack, and increase the tax on other tobacco products by 20 percent. The new revenues, projected by the state to be at least $351 million dollars per year, would fund tobacco prevention and cessation programs and other critical health initiatives. Increasing the cigarette tax and funding tobacco prevention and cessation programs are scientifically proven ways to reduce smoking, save lives and save money by reducing smoking-caused health care costs. Missouri currently ranks dead last in the nation in funding tobacco prevention programs, providing zero funding, and ranks next to last in the amount of its cigarette tax. This initiative would bring Missouri’s funding of tobacco prevention to the level recommended by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). More information
WARNING: Tobacco giant RJ Reynolds has pledged to spend $40 million this year to defeat the Missouri initiative and other state ballot initiatives to reduce tobacco use. The tobacco companies are well aware that voters strongly support cigarette tax increases and tobacco prevention programs because they reduce smoking, which takes a toll on Big Tobacco’s bottom line.
SPREAD THE WORD! Let your friends and family know about the important smoke-free law on the ballot on November 7! Tell a friend!
Nevada – Vote Yes on Question 5 for a Smoke-Free Nevada, No on Question 4
Question 5, the Nevada Clean Indoor Air Act, will protect Nevada workers and families from secondhand smoke by prohibiting smoking in restaurants, grocery stores, shopping malls, other retail establishments and bars that serve food. It also gives local governments the authority to pass tougher smoke-free laws. The Nevada Clean Indoor Air Act is sponsored by Nevadans for Tobacco-free Kids, a coalition of the Nevada State Medical Association and local chapters of the American Cancer Society, the American Heart Association, the American Lung Association, and the Academy of Family Physicians. The Tobacco-Free Kids Action Fund also supports it. More information
WARNING: Special interest groups such as the Slot Route Operators and the Petroleum and Convenience Store Association are spending millions of dollars to defeat this initiative by funding a deceptively named alternative initiative called “Responsibly Protect Nevadans From Secondhand Smoke.” This initiative, Question 4 on the ballot, claims to restrict smoking when in fact it would allow smoking in many restaurants and other workplaces, including certain child care facilities, school buildings and grocery stores. It would prohibit local governments from passing stronger smoke-free laws in the future.
SPREAD THE WORD! Let your friends and family know about the important smoke-free law on the ballot on November 7! Tell a friend!
Ohio – Vote Yes on Issue 5 for a Smoke-Free Ohio, No on Issue 4
Issue 5, the SmokeFree Ohio ballot initiative, would change state law to make all Ohio workplaces, including restaurants and bars, smoke-free and protect the right of all workers and the public to breathe clean air. Issue 5 is supported by the American Cancer Society, American Heart Association, American Lung Association, Tobacco-Free Kids Action Fund and other public health groups. The initiative would not weaken existing smoke-free laws that Ohio communities have enacted. More information
WARNING: Tobacco giant RJ Reynolds, the Ohio Licensed Beverage Association and other special interests are spending millions of dollars to defeat SmokeFree Ohio by sponsoring an alternative initiative, Issue 4, that is a fake smoke-free law. Issue 4 claims to restrict smoking when in fact it would amend the Ohio Constitution to allow smoking in many restaurants and other workplaces, roll back existing local smoke-free laws in 21 Ohio cities and prevent local governments from passing smoke-free laws in the future. It would leave Ohio families and 500,000 hospitality workers exposed to dangerous secondhand smoke. This alternative initiative is being pitched to voters with a blatantly deceptive name: Smoke Less Ohio. It’s really the Big Tobacco Protection Act and it does not belong in the Ohio Constitution.
SPREAD THE WORD! Let your friends and family know about the important smoke-free law on the ballot on November 7! Tell a friend!
South Dakota – Vote Yes on Measure 2 to Increase Tobacco Taxes and Fund Tobacco Prevention
Initiated Measure 2 would increase South Dakota’s cigarette tax by $1 per pack and the tax on other tobacco products from 10 percent to 35 percent of the wholesale price. This increase would raise approximately $40 million dollars a year to fund tobacco prevention and cessation programs, property tax relief, education enhancement and health care. Increasing the cigarette tax and funding tobacco prevention and cessation programs are scientifically proven ways to reduce smoking, save lives and save money by reducing smoking-caused health care costs. More information
WARNING: Tobacco companies are spending tens of millions of dollars this year to defeat state ballot initiatives to reduce tobacco use. The tobacco companies are well aware that voters strongly support cigarette tax increases and tobacco prevention programs because they reduce smoking, which takes a toll on Big Tobacco’s bottom line.
SPREAD THE WORD! Let your friends and family know about the important smoke-free law on the ballot on November 7! Tell a friend!
The Tobacco-Fee Kids Action Fund is a nonpartisan, nonprofit organization based in Washington, DC. Our efforts to support effective state tobacco prevention ballot measures (and oppose bad ones) are part of the work the Action Fund does in each state and nationwide to support proven policies to reduce smoking and exposure to secondhand smoke. The Action Fund does not receive any government or tobacco industry funding. Learn more about the Tobacco-Free Kids Action Fund.