Devious Petition

We at the American Lung Assn. of Ventura County have been inundated with telephone calls about a petition referred to as the “California Uniform Tobacco Quality Control Act.” Almost all of our callers have read the petition and arrived at the conclusion that it was grossly misrepresented to them. The American Lung Assn. calls this the “Phillip Morris Initiative.” This initiative petition represents a devious attempt by tobacco interests to undermine the progress we have made to protect the health of over 90% of the population (including children) who do not smoke.

The “Phillip Morris Initiative” sounds, at face, to be a good measure to control exposure to secondhand smoke and create uniform laws in the area of tobacco control, unless you read the petition. This initiative allows restaurants to have a 25% smoking section. Secondhand smoke does not respect this limitation and, while harmful to all living creatures and plants, it is particularly harmful to children, asthmatics and the elderly.

This initiative is designed to eliminate all local ordinances already in place and will exclude any future change by local jurisdictions. If this deceptive initiative were to become law, the tobacco industry becomes the winner. We feel that this issue is, and should continue to be, a local issue unless the initiative is to be a 100% ban in all workplaces. Let us remember, this is a public health issue, not a personal rights issue.

Please look at the back of the envelope in which the petition is mailed. In the very small letters, look to see who is responsible for this sanctimonious effort to undo what the vast majority of the people are striving for: clean, healthy air. Do not sign this petition unless you want to take a giant step backward.

WM. MICHAEL REYNOLDS

Chairman

American Lung Assn.

of Ventura County,

Oxnard