From: Joe@smokefree.org
Date: Thu, 06/01/06
"Smoke-Free Arizona" is the name of the good, strong initiative. "Arizona
Non-Smoker Protection Act" is the name of the weak, tobacco-supported
initiative.
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Big Tobacco behind deceptive ballot initiative
Two initiatives: One strong, one weak
Excerpted from Smoke-Free Arizona, 5/31/2006
Tobacco giant RJ Reynolds is lying to Arizonans - again. This time RJR is
bankrolling a deceptive initiative that falsely claims to protect people from
the dangers of secondhand smoke.
On Friday, the North Carolina-based cigarette manufacturer contributed $10,000
to a last-minute attempt to place the Arizona Non-Smoker Protection Act on the
November ballot. RJR's plan is to use their deceptively titled initiative to
confuse voters and defeat the true public health measure, Smoke-Free Arizona,
which will also be on the November ballot.
This isn't the first time Big Tobacco has used these deceptive tactics to head
off smoking bans. In Ohio, right now, RJR is pursuing a similar strategy in the
face of a strong statewide smoke-free law likely to appear on this Novembers'
ballot. In California, they called their initiative "Californians for Statewide
Smoking Restrictions." California voters caught on to their attempts to
misrepresent the facts and defeated their sleazy measure. In Florida, they chose
the misleading name "The Committee for Responsible Solutions," and gave up only
after being publicly criticized for their deception and fraud.
These blatantly deceptive names do not describe what the initiatives would
actually do: roll back existing smokefree regulations, allow smoking in
workplaces and prevent local governments from passing future protections against
secondhand smoke. Big tobacco-funded initiatives pretend to protect people, but
in reality they are nothing more than a smokescreen to confuse the voter.
The tobacco industry is playing a dangerous game and putting the health of all
Arizonans at risk by attempting to confuse voters about the Smoke-Free Arizona
initiative.
The American Cancer Society, American Heart Association, American Lung
Association, Arizona Hospital and Healthcare Association and the Campaign for
Tobacco Free Kids strongly oppose RJR's attempt to mislead Arizonans and
sidetrack our effort to make Arizona a healthier place to live.
But we do not underestimate the power of Big Tobacco's millions to confuse and
distract voters. The Smoke-Free Arizona coalition will use our decades of
experience promoting positive health policies in Arizona to defeat this measure.
For more information about Smoke-Free Arizona visit www.smokefreearizona.org.
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