Digest #13: This Month in Smoke-free News

Just to briefly update everyone on my last post--the second annual Jog For Jill went very well. For those of us who couldn't make it, student journalists from The Daily Californian were there in full force to document the day for all of us. Also--props to my good friend and world-renowned photographer, Victoria Chow, for putting together an awesome slideshow for the event.

Okay, I'm going to try a different approach to covering monthly smoke-free news--I was inspired by my other good friend, Alex Trembath, author of Energetics...so here it goes:

• An article in US News & World Report recently claimed that, "if everyone were to quit smoking today, nearly 450,000 fewer Americans would die annually from smoking-related diseases." Enough said? ...Not quite! After four decades of falling smoking rates, a recent study from the Center for Disease Control and Prevention has shown that smoking rates have plateaued at a rate between 20-21% since 2005. Personally, this is surprising, as I was under the impression that smoking rates would continue to drop as they had been since smoking was discovered to be unhealthy. As smoke-free advocates, we need to figure out ways to accelerate national (and global) smoking rates toward 0%. Therefore, this blog must go on.

• The Center for Tobacco Policy Research at Washington University has basically (and boldly, I might add) suggested that smoking bans that are not comprehensive are insufficient and ineffective. My take? I can't believe what I just typed; this notion shouldn't come off as bold at all! What good is a smoking ban if we are to allow smoking in select public places? Are patrons of casinos less worthy of inhaling clean air than patrons of restaurants? No! Good for the researchers at Washington University for saying what should represent a common sentiment.

• Arizona State University's law school has received a $1.3 million dollar grant to serve as a regional office for the Public Health Law Network, which I understand is a newly formed national organization funded by the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation. Although ASU will serve as a hub for research on tribal health law and emergency legal preparedness and response, I'm predicting (and hoping) that tobacco awareness will remain an important part of the school's public health research agenda. What's interesting and coincidental here is that, just this past spring semester, ASU students had petitioned to make their campus smoke-free, and ended their efforts with a compromise for designated smoking areas. I wonder what kind of leverage the law school will be able to provide these student advocates with now...

• Speaking of designated smoking areas, Vanderbilt University now has them. I hear that's a pretty good school they've got going down there! Sense the sarcasm? This is a BIG deal! If colleges of this caliber start restricting smoking like this, there's no telling how influential they are going to be. Get on it, Berkeley! Still, as long as college campuses like SUNY Buffalo continue to go smoke-free, I think the top schools in the country will eventually cave.
  

• Something pretty cool that I hadn't realized until now: Wisconsin's recent statewide ban (see this post) prohibits smoking in all hotel rooms, no questions asked. What a dream come true; there are few things that turn me off more than walking into a "non-smoking" hotel room that smells of smoke...while I'm on vacation.

• More smoke-free apartments will hopefully be established soon on the west coast--the Seattle and San Francisco areas, in particular.

• Across the pond (and over to the right a little more), Finland's government has been reported to have said that it wants to be the first country in the world "to phase out smoking completely." Good stuff, but I'm very glad our government can't take this kind of unanimous, unwarranted action against us. Although it would be ideal to live in a smoke-free country, I think the decision should be made as democratically as possible. That said, don't get me started on what the interviewed man says 20 seconds into the video...

• According to CNN.com, a small town called New York City "could be inching closer to banning outdoor smoking in parks, beaches, marinas, boardwalks and pedestrian plazas." Yup, that means NO MORE SMOKING IN TIMES SQUARE. Although many New Yorkers are "fuming" over this measure, some definitely support it; one person even said, "As a former smoker, I have to say ‘yes’ [to supporting the ban]...As a city as densely populated as New York City, it’s reasonable to take measures." Anyway, I think that CNN is reluctant to admit that the largest city in the country is charging toward a change that a lot of people probably won't like. This is the feeling I get from what NYC Mayor Michael Bloomberg recently said, which will also serve as my quote of the month:
  

"The science is clear: prolonged exposure to secondhand smoke – whether you’re indoors or out - hurts your health. Today, we’re doing something about it." --Michael Bloomberg, Mayor of New York City

• Finally: ButtOut.com, my favorite online anti-smoking gear vendor, has a promotion going until the end of the month: Customers get a free t-shirt with every order. I'm ordering a poster and a super-cool wristband to earn my shirt!
  

Hope you enjoyed this month's digest. Until next time, my smoke-free brethren...