Handsel Art
16 September 2012
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CTFA Holds Successful 10th Anniversary Conference
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| Dr. Stanton Glantz |
Over 160 advocates from around the state celebrating public health successes from the past decade gathered for the Coalition for a Tobacco Free Arkansas’ 10th annual Striking Out Tobacco in Arkansas conference in North Little Rock September 13th, 2012. Attendees were treated with presentations from some of the most distinguished tobacco control authorities in the nation.
Dr. Greg Connelly, from the Harvard School of Public Health, was influential in getting the Family Smoking Prevention and Tobacco Control Act passed in 2009. This law gave limited authority over cigarettes to the Food and Drug Administration. An original member of the FDA’s Tobacco Products Scientific Advisory Committee, Connolly has since resigned and had little to recommend about the law today. He encouraged the audience to put pressure on the FDA to act more quickly regarding a decision about menthol. The original bill banned characterizing fruit and candy flavors in cigarettes but neglected to include menthol in these restrictions. The Committee concluded that menthol in cigarettes made initiation of nicotine addiction easier and quitting more difficult. Their March 23rd 2011 report stated, “removal of menthol cigarettes from the marketplace would benefit public health in the United States”. The FDA’s final decision was due 90 days after the submission of the report but has not acted. 80% of African American smokers consume menthol cigarettes.
Keynote speaker, Dr. Stanton Glantz, a founding member of the group Americans for Non Smokers’ Rights and Director of the Center for Tobacco Control and Research at the University of California at San Francisco, recounted how the tobacco free movement had evolved in California. He called attention to the statewide media campaign emphasizing that nicotine was addictive, secondhand smoke will kill you, and the tobacco industry lies. He noted that focusing on a corrupt industry creates a ‘social un-acceptability‘ quotient that could be as effective as tobacco taxes in decreasing use.
Glantz pointed out that he and Dr. Connolly had been on opposite sides of the law giving the FDA authority over cigarettes. Noting that the industry was now offering soluble nicotine products to sidestep smoke free laws and keep people addicted he added, “One thing I think we should be pressing for at the FDA, if they should ever grow a back bone, which is unlikely, but if they should they should prohibit co-branding of these non cigarette products, so they can’t say Use Marlboro snus on the plane and smoke Marlboro cigarettes when you can.”
He concluded that tobacco control efforts really do work. Over 15 years the California tobacco control program cost $1.4 billion. But health care costs from an almost immediate reduction of heart disease deaths and asthma attacks, and 14% decreased incidence of lung cancers over a decade, saved the state $86 billion. “So when politicians say we don’t have enough money for tobacco control, everything they cut from that, they are paying over and above that in health care costs and it’s not 20 years from now.”
Recognizing Arkansas’ deeply flawed clean indoor air law, Glantz suggested that activists work locally to rectify exemptions. He complimented advocates for a 30% drop over the last 3 years in cigarette sales in Arkansas. “You’ve got to realize that every little success you have is dollars out of a multi national corporation’s pocket, and they don’t like that, and are going to do everything in their power to stop that.”
Additional speakers included representatives from the National Latino Tobacco Control Network, the American Lung Association, and the University of Wisconsin. “CTFA always does a great job addressing disparities,” says Julie Andersen from Marion County. “This year was no different with speakers focusing on Latinos, the LGBT community, and nicotine dependence among those living with a mental illness. Excellent conference!”
The Coalition for a Tobacco Free Arkansas is a statewide network of organizations with a shared mission to challenge the tobacco industry. More information can be found at www.arfreshair.com
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