Going retro: Tobacco industry resurrection of old tactics creating new problems for public health

Significant progress has been made in the tobacco control policy arena over the last three decades, and in particular, over the last 10 years. Nearly 50% of the U.S. population is protected by a local or state 100% smokefree law in workplaces, restaurants, and bars; 19 states and three commonwealths/territories have 100% smokefree laws that also include casinos. Many cities have expanded indoor air laws to include outdoor workplaces such as bar and restaurant patios, as well as outdoor spaces including beaches, parks, transit waiting areas. Hundreds of hospital and university campuses are now smokefree if not tobacco-free; many multi-unit housing properties are voluntarily smokefree and laws at the municipal level are becoming more common.

The tobacco industry had taken a lower opposition profile during the Department of Justice, Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations (RICO) case which received a final ruling in August 2006 and the negotiation of the Family Smoking Prevention and Tobacco Control Act which was signed into law in June 2009, but it has come back with a vengeance using many of the same old interference tactics from the 1990's. This presentation will discuss current policy development and opposition efforts to thwart public health policy efforts including partnerships with public health/medical partners and resurrection of ventilation as a “solution” to secondhand smoke exposure.