ARK: Smoke-free advocates plan strategy at state conference

TheBaxterBulletin.com ^ | 12-29-03

[SheLion]

Volunteers with Tobacco-Free Marion County and Baxter County Tobacco Control recently attended the Arkansas Department of Health and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention/Office on Smoking and Health's statewide conference on "Evidence-Based Strategies in Tobacco Control: Making Sense of What Works" at AllTel Arena in North Little Rock.

[SheLion]

[SheLion]

Anyone live in ARK?

[Conspiracy Guy]

I am building and Ark. I don't plan to move in until the rain starts.

[SheLion]

The Rise and Fall of the Smoking Ordinance: As the finale of his 40-year-plus career in public service, Gus Garcia carried the weight -- with help from a loud and well-funded insta-lobby of community activists -- for a drastic tightening of Austin's indoor smoking rules. Unfortunately, the people most harmed by such a change -- the city's bar and club owners, and their many friends -- were not consulted and did not go quietly at all. By year's end, the city was on its third ordinance of 2003, and the tobacco-free triumph went up in, well, you know.

article here

[Gabz]

Raising the price of tobacco products is aimed at reducing tobacco use primarily among kids. Generating revenue is secondary to the lives that can be saved with an effective tobacco tax," Kumpe said.

What a crock of Barbra Streisand. cigarette taxes are raised to balance state budgets, not keep kids from smoking. For heaven's sake, kids have more disposable income than many adults. When was the last time you paid 100 bucks for a pair of shoes? (hint-I've never done so)

It's illegal in all 50 states to sell tobacco products to anyone under 18 (higher in some states) but very few states punish the kids, only the stores. Make underage possession and use of tobacco the same as alcohol and they will actually being doing something useful. I think Florida will confiscate a kid's drivers license for underage tobacco use/pssession. But of course they won't, instead they punish adults with higher taxes because it's for the children.

[MeekOneGOP]

Anyone live in ARK?

Nope. Just chickens there. And bunches of 'em too! :O)