dc-announce

Greetings. We hope you are enjoying the second year of a smokefree DC!
We would like to update you on a few developments:
 
1) When the baseball stadium opened late last month, it was completely
smokefree. That's right -- no smoking in the stands, in the concourses,
in the bathrooms. This is a great thing for all the obvious reasons: no
one should have to breathe secondhand smoke while they're out in a
crowded area, waiting in line for food or whatever.
 
How did the stadium come to be smokefree? Two things. First, the
Nationals -- to their credit -- decided they wanted the stadium to be
smokefree. Second, for added insurance, D.C. Councilmember Phil
Mendelson, in the "Ballpark Public Safety Amendment Act of 2008,"
inserted language to ensure the stadium would be smokefree. The bill
unanimously passed the Council on April 1, 2008, and it has been sent to
the mayor. Mayor Adrian Fenty -- along with Phil Mendelson and former
Councilmember Kathy Patterson -- is one of the original introducers of
the smokefree workplace legislation and is expected to sign this bill.
To thank Phil, e-mail him at pmendelson@dccouncil.us.
 
2) Phil Mendelson recently championed another bill important to us. The
Fire-Standard-Compliant Cigarettes Act of 2008 requires that cigarettes
sold in the District meet the fire safety standards already in place in
Maryland and 21 other states. The new cigarette technology uses a
different kind of paper that will cause the cigarette to stop burning if
left unattended. This is expected to have a big impact on home fires in
D.C. The D.C. Fire and Emergency Medical Services Department testified
that 27 percent of total fire deaths in the District are caused by
smoking products; between 700 and 900 people are killed year in the U.S.
in fires caused by cigarettes. As an added bonus, when smokers flick
their lit cigarettes onto the streets and sidewalks, they will not
continue to spew poison into the air.  The bill was passed by the
Council in March and signed by Mayor Fenty on March 19. Because of the
restrictions placed on D.C. by the Congress, the law won't go into
effect until the end of the Congressional review period, which is
expected to end on May 13. 
 
3) D.C. Councilmember David Catania, author of the final version of the
smokefree workplace law, introduced a bill with eight of his colleagues
-- a veto-proof majority in the 13-member Council -- that will require
the uninsured to buy health insurance at an extremely affordable rate
based on income, topping out at $100 per month. D.C. already has lowest
rate of uninsured people in the country. The poorest people in D.C. are
already covered by Medicaid and the better-off are usually covered by
employer plans. 
 
Smokefree D.C. is particularly pleased with one of the bill's funding
mechanisms. The Healthy DC Act of 2008 will double the tax on cigarettes
from $1 to $2 per pack.  Studies, and experience in state after state,
show that higher cigarette taxes are one of the most effective ways to
reduce smoking among both youth and adults. Every 10 percent increase in
the price of cigarettes will reduce youth smoking by about seven percent
and overall cigarette consumption by about four percent
(http://tobaccofreekids.org/reports/prices/.) The U.S. Centers for
Disease Control and Prevention estimates that smoking-caused health
costs total $8.44 per pack sold and consumed in the United States. 
 
We are also making sure that smoking cessation programs are covered in
the new plan. New York City officials say three things contributed to
the city's dramatic smoking reduction rates: a smokefree workplace law,
higher cigarette taxes and smoking cessation programs. If the D.C. bill
passes with smoking cessation plans covered, we'll be 3 for 3.  To thank
David and ask him to ensure that smoking cessation plans are covered,
e-mail him at dcatania@dccouncil.us.
 
4) Smokefree DC recently met with D.C. Council candidate Adam Clampitt,
who is running against Carol Schwartz. You recall that Carol
singlehandedly blocked the initial smokefree workplace legislation for
D.C. In fact, she held it up in her committee for years. And she was the
only Councilmember to vote against it when it passed. Carol is no friend
to non-smokers or to public health. Adam, in contrast, is a major
smokefree supporter. Learn more about him by visiting his Web site,
http://www.adamclampitt.com/.
 
5) Some Smokefree DC members have informed us that there are still
smoking lounges in certain federal buildings, despite a presidential
executive order and strong smokefree workplace laws in Maryland and DC.
The two places we've heard about are the Federal Communications
Commission (FCC) and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration
(NOAA).
 
Federal buildings are often exempt from local law, but federal buildings
are supposed to be smokefree after President Clinton issued Executive
Order 13058 (http://www.wbdg.org/pdfs/eo13058.pdf
<http://www.wbdg.org/pdfs/eo13058.pdf> ), which eliminated smoking
except when it is essential to the mission of the organization. However,
an exemption says that the order does not apply to "areas that are
enclosed and exhausted directly to the outside and away from air intake
ducts, and are maintained under negative pressure (with respect to
surrounding spaces) sufficient to contain tobacco smoke within the
designated area."

The smoking lounges we've heard about are not fully enclosed and leak
smoke  If you know of other federal buildings with smoking lounges that
the government claims are legal, please let us know. Federal employees
deserve to be protected from secondhand smoke, and federal building
should not be exempt from the law.
 
Lastly, if you know of places that are violating the smokefree law, let
us know.  Otherwise, hope your outings in DC are better without the
smoke.  All of us on the Smokefree DC Steering Committee have been
thrilled with how well the implmetation of the law has gone, and how
much better being in DC is.