Governor to sign historic public health law 

Topeka, KS. Feb 25, 2010:    The Kansas House of Representatives today approved a historic public health bill for Kansas.  A statewide public smoking bill that restricts smoking in public places and workplaces including restaurants and bars is headed to the Governor’s desk to be signed into law.   Kansas will join 34 other states that have enacted smoking restrictions in public places. 
 

“We thank the Kansas legislature and Governor Mark Parkinson for leading Kansas into a smoke free future,” said Jake Lowen of Clean Air Kansas. “The slow bullet of second hand smoke exposure has been stopped.  Kansas can look forward to reduced cancer rates, fewer heart attacks and decreased health care costs.” 
 

For the past decade Kansans have asked law makers to provide protections from second hand smoke. The smoke free train started in Salina with the first local smoke free ordinance and then the momentum rolled across the state. Citizens called their legislators, wrote letters to their newspapers, and traveled to Topeka. Grassroots efforts for a smoke free state reached a crescendo this year. “The voices of thousands of Kansas could not be quieted or ignored,” Lowen said.   
 

“Our next step is to encourage our members and all Kansans to support hospitality businesses as they transition to smoke free environments. Experience shows us that going smoke free is good for health and good for business.” 
 

Clean Air Kansas is part of a coalition of health care organizations and businesses that worked to make Kansas a smoke free state. For more information go to www.cleanairkansas.org; www.facebook.com/cleanairkansas; www.twitter.com/cleanairkansas. 
 

The February newsletter is here and it's full of smoke-free information for the state of Kansas.  Click on the link below to read  our headline stories including the results of the October 2009 Pittsburg air quality testing.

After losing her father to cancer, First Lady Stacy Parkinson warns others about second hand smoke.

Watch the videos below and share her story with your family and friends.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SJ9Jt4UfpB4
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-Xz4jCVYAWs

By DAVID KLEPPER
The Star’s Topeka correspondent

 
TOPEKA | Legislation in Kansas would replace local public smoking bans with a weaker statewide prohibition that would allow bars and restaurants to opt out by paying a fee.
 

Supporters call it a compromise, but the idea angers groups that have long fought for a statewide ban on indoor public smoking.
 

“It takes us backward,” said Kansas first lady Stacy Parkinson, a leading advocate of a statewide ban. “It’s a slap in the face to public health.”

The bill, HB 2642, would permit bars and restaurants to allow smoking in separately ventilated areas of their businesses — if they agree to pay the state $1 for each square foot of smoking section. Establishments could also allow smoking throughout their businesses, but minors would not be allowed to enter.
 

“Compromise is a good fit for everyone,” said Bill Nigro, a tavern owner who represents the Free State Business Rights Coalition.

The bill is popular with those lawmakers who contend that tougher bans are an onerous intrusion into business operations.

During a hearing on the bill Wednesday, Rep. Brenda Landwehr, a Wichita Republican, questioned the link between secondhand smoke and increased incidents of heart attacks.
“What hard data do we have?” she asked Jason Eberhart-Phillips, the state’s top medical official. “Or are we just guesstimating?”
 

He said that many studies have shown a link between secondhand smoke and health problems.

The legislation, if approved, would replace all local city and county smoking bans now in place.
 

The Kansas Senate last year passed a ban on smoking in all bars and restaurants. The only exceptions were tobacco shops, private clubs and state-run casinos. It never came to a vote in the House, but those in favor of a stronger ban hope it can be revived this year.

But even if the new House bill passes both chambers this year, it could face a veto by Gov. Mark Parkinson, a Democrat who favors a stronger ban.

Stacy Parkinson said she would “absolutely” encourage a veto if the bill reached the governor.
 

Source 

A competing smoke free bill introduced in the Kansas House of Representatives on 2/3/10 calls for overturning all smoke free ordinances statewide and replacing those ordinances with a state law that allows smoking to return to bars, restaurants, private clubs and casinos.

The primary concern with the new bill is that it overrides not only our local ordinances but all of the 39 local smoke free ordinances approved by Kansas communities over the past ten years. It’s hypocritical for those legislators who have been arguing for years that they are champions of local control, to include a preemption clause that states no local ordinance can be stronger than the state law.House Bill 2642 undoes a decade of good public policy on the local level in Kansas. This bill is the tobacco industry’s dream bill. 

A better bill  available to legislators is HB 2221 that would provide protections from second hand smoke for a majority of Kansas residents. It would include bars and restaurants.

Topeka, KS.  Feb. 3, 2010:   A competing smoke free bill introduced in the Kansas House of Representatives today has public health advocates howling in protest. “Our primary concern with the new bill is that it overrides the 36 local smoke free ordinances approved by Kansas communities over the past ten years,” said Jake Lowen of Clean Air Kansas.  Lowen said it was completely hypocritical for those legislators who have been arguing for years that they are champions of local control, to include a preemption clause that states no local ordinance can be stronger than the state law. “House Bill 2642 undoes a decade of good public policy on the local level in Kansas,” Lowen said. “This bill is the tobacco industry’s dream bill.” 
 

The latest bill introduced in the Kansas House, if approved, would allow smoking to return to all bars, clubs, casinos, and food service establishments with ventilated rooms, smoking and non smoking sections, and hospitality establishments that pay a fee to allow smoking. It also would undo voter approved smoke free ordinances in Emporia and Manhattan.  “We believe HB 2642 is a bad bill because everyone deserves the right to breathe clean air no matter where they work,” Lowen said. “The fee or licensing provision allows businesses to buy their way out of protecting their employees and the public from second hand smoke.” 

HB 2642 has been offered as a “compromise” bill to HB 2221, the House version of a bill approved by the Kansas Senate in 2009.  “The smoke free bill previously approved twice by the Senate and sent over to the House is a compromise bill, said Lowen. “The only thing this new bill compromises is public health.” 

Public health advocates are pushing for a bill that includes restaurants and bars and sets a floor of basic protections from second hand smoke for a majority of Kansans. Clean Air Kansas is part of a coalition of health related organizations in Kansas in support of a smoke free state.

For now, Kansas remains as one of the twelve states known as “The Dirty Dozen”, without public smoking restrictions.

KU Basketball Coach Bill Self and KSU Football Coach Bill Snyder urge young people to
stay away from second hand smoke.

Click on the links below to hear what they have to say!

KU Basketball Coach Bill Self

KSU Football Coach Bill Snyder

Five thousand Kansans have voiced their support of a clean indoor air bill for the state of Kansas.  Check out the link below to listen to some compelling reasons why Kansas should go smoke-free from citizens throughout the entire state!  You can even record your vote of support for clean indoor air!

Voices for Clean Air Kansas

Topeka, KS. Jan. 15, 2010:  Several Dickinson and Morris County residents have joined a chorus of voices across Kansas asking Kansas legislators to approve a smoke free law for Kansas in 2010. Residents in Herrington and Council Grove were among many Kansans who have shared their story about second hand smoke and how it has impacted their lives.  
 

In Herrington, Virginia Phelps talked about experiencing second hand smoke on the job. “I worked in a bar and second hand smoke ruined my lungs,” she said. “I don’t even smoke. That’s

terrible.” Phelps has asked Kansas State Representative Tom Moxley to support statewide smoking restrictions that include restaurants and bars. 
 

Council Grove resident, Vernon Hay, also asked Moxley to consider the health care costs due to second hand smoke exposure. Hay said he wants a comprehensive smoke free law for Kansas. “I feel strongly this is one of the things we should be doing if we are serious about health care costs.” 
 

The Kansas House of Representatives is expected to address a public smoking bill this session. Last year the Kansas Senate approved the Kansas Clean Indoor Air Act. If the House acts on this public health issue this session, Kansas Governor Mark Parkinson said he will sign a smoke free law this year provided it doesn’t contain numerous exemptions and loopholes. To date 38 states

including North Carolina have approved statewide restrictions on smoking in public places and workplaces. 
 

Thirty-six communities and three counties in Kansas have taken the initiative at the local level to provide protections from second hand smoke. “The state is at a tipping point,” said Jake Lowen of Clean Air Kansas. “It’s clear a majority of Kansans  want the Kansas legislature to step in and provide protections for all because everyone has the right to breathe smoke free, clean indoor air.” 
 

Clean Air Kansas has partnered with the numerous organizations across the state in calling for a smoke free law for Kansas, including the American Cancer Society, the American Heart Association, the American Lung Association, Kansas Academy of Family Physicians, Tobacco Free Kansas, Kansas Action for Children and Blue Cross Blue Shield of Kansas.  
 

Supporters want a statewide public health law that would restrict smoking in public places and workplaces including restaurants and bars. Public health experts point to documented health benefits, such as an immediate reduction in heart attack rates, lower health care costs, more people who quit smoking, young people who don’t start smoking and saved lives. 
 

A Survey USA poll showed 65% of Kansans want a smoking ban in public places. The survey was conducted for KWCH-TV in Wichita.
 
The survey of 500 Kansans was released on January 13th, 2010. It showed that  support for restrictions on smoking in public places has a 65% approval rating. Thirty-three percent opposed a ban and two percent were undecided.
 
SurveyUSA is an independent, non-partisan, full-service opinion research firm that conducts scientific research for media, government, and private-sector clients.