States' voters speak, and smoking is out

Public health entities go head-to-head with tobacco companies on ballot initiatives and emerge mostly victorious.

By Susan J. Landers, AMNews staff. Nov. 27, 2006.

Washington -- The Nov. 7 approval of six anti-smoking state ballot initiatives provided a boost for a range of public health activities. Some states now will have smoke-free workplaces and others more funds for cessation efforts.

In the past, only two or three such measures had appeared on state ballots in a given election. All told, there were eight this year. But two, one in California and the other in Missouri, were defeated.

The victories were hailed by those intent on cutting the number of smokers nationwide. "Health advocates are running out of patience and are going to the ballot more and more if necessary," said AMA President-elect Ron Davis, MD, who went to Columbus, Ohio, to lend the Association's support to the SmokeFree Ohio initiative and to Arizona for similar activities.

Measures prohibiting smoking in workplaces and restaurants are intended to protect people from secondhand smoke, a well-recognized health hazard. Funds, often from increased tobacco taxes, will be used primarily to pay for more cessation programs.

The need to support smokers in the effort to stop became more apparent with the recent Centers for Disease Control and Prevention study showing that adult quit rates have stalled after years of progress. Also in the Nov. 7 Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report, the CDC reported significant variation among residents of 14 states studied in the proportion of adults protected by smoke-free workplace policies and the proportion of adults who protect themselves and families from secondhand smoke in their homes.