Watch out, Ohio!

Publication Date: 2006-06-20

Watch out, Ohio!

There is signature gathering underway in Ohio for TWO different secondhand smoke ballot initiatives. One is supported by public health groups and seeks to bring smokefree air to Ohio's workplaces and indoor public places, including restaurants and bars. The other was created by cigarette giant RJ Reynolds and would undermine smokefree protections throughout the Buckeye State.

PLEASE READ ALL INITIATIVES CAREFULLY BEFORE SIGNING ANYTHING!

The "GOOD" Initiative -- The Smoke Free Workplace Act

Title: The Smoke Free Workplace Act
Sponsor: SmokeFREE Ohio
Endorsers: American Cancer Society, American Lung Association, Moms for Ohio, Ohio African Americans for Optimal Health Inc., Ohio Association of Boards of Health, Ohio Education Association, Ohio Nurses Association, Ohio PTA, and many more. Click here for the complete list of health, business, faith, community, and education supporters.

If passed: would clear the air of secondhand smoke in Ohio's public places and workplaces including offices, factories, restaurants, bars, and bowling alleys. Ohio would join the growing list of states with 100% smokefree workplace laws. It would offer equal protection, as well as save lives and money.

The tobacco companies are savvier than ever, using public health messaging to confuse voters and trick them into signing their competing initiative.

The "BAD" Initiative -- Proposed Constitutional Amendment (Smoking Limitations)

Titled: Proposed Constitutional Amendment (Smoking Limitations
Sponsor: SmokeLess Ohio (a front group representing RJ Reynolds and the Ohio Licensed Beverage Association)
Endorsers: Tobacco and Alcohol Lobbies

If passed: This Big Tobacco constitutional amendment would roll back all existing smokefree laws in 21 Ohio cities, including Toledo and Columbus, and prevent any future smokefree protection in the state. RJ Reynolds is paying up to $4 per signature to signature gatherers, in efforts to put a preemptive and ineffective competing constitutional amendment on the November ballot.

SmokeFree Ohio needs you more than ever to inform others about who is really behind the cigarette companies' SmokeLess Ohio. To learn more, contact SmokeFree Ohio at www.smokefreeohio.org.