Advocacy
Current Legislative Successes in North Carolina
Below are some of the current legislative successes supported by the American Lung Association of North Carolina.
NORTH CAROLINA LEGISLATION
HB 24 - Smoking in State Government Buildings/Prohibition – signed into
law
HB 24 will make all state government buildings smoke-free and provides the
option to local governments to make local government buildings and
transportation systems smoke-free. During the Senate debate on this bill, a
technical amendment to the bill was approved to make the bill consistent with
other smoke-free legislation also winding through the legislative process (the
UNC smoke-free bill and the Tobacco-Free Schools bill). On Thursday, the House
received HB 24 from the Senate and voted to accept the Senate’s technical
changes by a vote of 110-3.
SB 862 – UNC Smoke Free – signed into law
This bill gives the authority to the Boards of Governors of each of 16
schools within the UNC System to set their own regulations for smoking on their
own campuses (buildings and grounds). HB 24 mandates that the campus buildings
go smoke free but SB 862 still allows for the individual schools to take action
on establishing more restrictive policies to include the campus grounds.
SB 1086 – Tobacco Free Schools – signed into law
Eighty-seven of the state’s 115 school systems are already tobacco free.
Eighty-seven of the state’s 115 school systems are already tobacco free.
HB 1294 - No Smoking/LTC Facilities – signed into law
Under this bill smoking would be banned inside the state's nursing homes,
assisted living facilities, state psychiatric hospitals and other centers that
house older people and those with disabilities. Smoking and other forms of
tobacco may be used on the grounds of these facilities.
HB 1785 - Fire Safe Cigarettes - signed into law
This bill would require all cigarettes sold in NC to burn out quickly when
left unattended. Similar legislation has been approved in more than a dozen
states and Canada. According to the Coalition for Fire-Safe Cigarettes,
cigarettes are the leading reason for fire deaths in the United States, causing
up to 900 deaths a year. The state Division of Public Health blames cigarettes
and similar smoking material for 700,500 residential fires in the state in 2005.
Those fires resulted in 100 deaths and 800 injuries.
HB 1912 - Diesel Emissions Reduction Act – signed into law
HB1912 would provide some of the funds needed to allow school systems in the 24
nonattainment areas of the state to install diesel retrofit filters (or best
available technology) and crank case filters on their school buses.
SB 3 - Promote Renewable Energy/Baseload Generation ¬– signed into law.
SB 3 would require utility companies to provide 12.5% of their power in the
future from alternative sources. However the bill shifted from an alternative
energy bill, known as the Renewable Energy Portfolio Standard (REPS) to a
broader energy bill that would give utilities the ability to charge customers
higher utility rates to pay for ongoing construction of new nuclear and coal
plants. It also offers millions of dollars in tax breaks to industrial
customers. Critics also point to a provision in the bill that would allow hog
farmers to sell methane gas emitted from hog waste stored in lagoons – a
disposal approach that has been responsible for the contamination of fresh water
and ground water in Eastern North Carolina.
NATIONAL LEGISLATION
S. 625 / H.R. 1108 – FDA Regulation of Tobacco Products
Currently, there are 51 co-sponsors of the Senate bill and 186 cosponsors of the House. Senate mark-up is this week (July 22) – they will review the bill prior to the August break. This is a critical step needed to allow the bill to move forward for consideration by the full US Senate. House is looking for dates for hearing on the bill. ALANC will be visiting with North Carolina legislators during the August break to discuss the FDA legislation and to urge them to support the bill.
S.625 would provide regulations on tobacco products as well as the marketing and distribution of cigarettes. Identical, bipartisan bills have been introduced in the Senate and the House to give the FDA authority over tobacco products. S. 625, is sponsored by U.S. Sens. Edward Kennedy (D-MA) and John Cornyn (R-TX), while the House bill, H.R. 1108, is sponsored by Representatives Henry Waxman (D-CA) and Tom Davis (R-VA).
This legislation would give the FDA the authority to:
- Crack down on tobacco marketing and sales to children.
- Ban candy-flavored cigarettes, which clearly are aimed at kids.
- Require disclosure of the contents of tobacco products and tobacco industry research about the health effects of their products.
- Require changes in tobacco products such as the removal of harmful ingredients.
- Stop tobacco companies from making health claims about their products that are not scientifically proven or that would discourage current tobacco users from quitting or encourage new users to start.
- Require larger, more effective health warnings on tobacco products.
- Prohibit terms such as "light", "mild" and "low-tar" that mislead consumers into believing that certain cigarettes are safer than others.
H.R. 1532 and S. 1551 - The Comprehensive TB Elimination Act
This federal legislation sponsored by Representative Gene Green (D-TX), Heather
Wilson (R-NM), Tammy Baldwin (D-WI) and Senator Sherrod Brown (D-OH) will
provide the US Public Health Service with the resources needed to eliminate TB
in the US and play a leading role in eradicating the disease globally.
The bill will:
- Expand CDC sponsored research on the safety and efficacy of new drugs, diagnostics and vaccines, and studies of populations at risk for TB
- Authorize and expand CDC demonstration activities on TB elimination, including targeted efforts to prevent, detect and treat the disease among African Americans and foreign-born persons in the U.S.
- Expand research, including study of the relationship between TB and HIV/AIDS, and research training programs at the NIH
- Authorize funding for the "Blueprint Plan for TB Vaccine Development"
Advocacy Campaigns by the American Lung Association of North Carolina
Nationally, the American Lung Association provides numerous publications to aid local Lung Associations as well as advocates. This year, the following publications were provided by our National Office and distributed by ALANC:
- State of Tobacco Control
- State of the Air
- State Legislated Actions Tobacco Actions
- Fundamental of Smokefree Workplaces – in partnership with other tobacco control advocates
- Tobacco Policy Trend Alert: From Joe Camel to Kauli Kolada – the Marketing of Candy-Flavored Cigarettes
- Tobacco Policy Trend Alert: Alcohol Flavored Cigarettes – Continuing the Trend
- Trends in Tobacco Use – Research and Statistics
- Estimated Prevalence and Incidence of Lung Disease
- Lung Disease Data: 2006
Advocacy Campaigns by the American Lung Association
Nationally, the American Lung Association provides numerous publications to aid local Lung Associations as well as advocates. This year, the following publications were provided by our National Office and distributed by ALANC:
Be sure to sign up for ALA’s Lung Action Network to stay informed on current legislation and to make your voice heard!
