Voters back a variety of tobacco-control initiatives

Anti-smoking advocates are encouraged by state ballot wins but also witnessed some losses in the midterm election.

By Stephanie Stapleton, AMNews staff. Nov. 25, 2002.

Anti-tobacco forces looked to the Nov. 5 election as a chance to light up anti-cigarette sentiment by asking voters to back a variety of tobacco-control measures on ballot initiatives across the country. And, as with most elections, "there was good news and bad news," said Thomas P. Houston, MD, director of AMA science and community health advocacy.

Some of the wins were big. Tobacco-control advocates point to the success of a Florida constitutional amendment on smoke-free workplaces as providing a model for other states in the future. In addition, measures supporting tobacco tax increases and dedicating tobacco-settlement dollars to anti-smoking activities were approved in Arizona, Montana and, earlier this fall, in Oregon.

Tobacco control "is an issue that resonates and, with effective organization, it's an issue that can win on the ballot. People care about it. They care about whether their kids smoke," said Richard Daynard, PhD, professor of law and president of the Tobacco Control Resource Center at Northeastern University School of Law in Boston.

"These results demonstrate that Americans' concerns about tobacco are now carrying over into the voting booth," agreed Matthew L. Myers, president of the Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids in a statement.

In Florida, 71% of voters supported a ban on smoking in most enclosed indoor workplaces, including restaurants and in-home child care. Stand-alone bars, retail tobacco shops, smoking rooms in hotels and motels, and private homes not used for commercial health or child care are exempt from the measure. [...]