Tobacco Industry Lobbying Threatens Smoking Ban in New York City

The proposed Smoke Free Air Act, introduced by New York City Council Speaker Peter E. Vallone in March, aims to eliminate smoking in most public areas, but lobbying efforts by the tobacco industry have weakened the bill. Philip Morris Cos. has threatened to relocate its headquarters, which employs 2,000 people, if the legislation passes in its current form. The industry has also pressured its grant recipients, including cultural institutions such as the Dance Theater of Harlem, to lobby against the bill.

Key Takeaways:

• The proposed Smoke Free Air Act, introduced by Council Speaker Peter E. Vallone, aims to eliminate smoking in most public areas, including restaurants, bars, and workplaces.
• The tobacco industry has lobbied fiercely against the bill, with Philip Morris Cos. threatening to relocate its headquarters if the legislation passes in its current form.
• The industry has also pressured its grant recipients, including cultural institutions, to lobby against the bill.
• A recent study at the University of California, San Diego, found a smoking rate of 13.7% in cities with workplace smoking bans, compared with 19.5% in cities without such bans.
• Dr. Stanton R. Glantz, a professor of medicine at the University of California, San Francisco, believes that the industry fears the "bandwagon effect" of smoking bans, which may ultimately lead to a decrease in the smoking rate.
• New York City has been a nationwide leader in anti-smoking legislation, with the City Council first restricting smoking in most public places under the Clean Indoor Air Act in 1988.
• The new measure, as written, would ban smoking in outdoor sports arenas and most restaurants, except in some bar areas, and would restrict smoking to private, ventilated offices and designated rooms at workplaces.
• Business owners who fail to comply with the new regulations may face fines, and word of the potential fines seems to have been effective.
• Tobacco industry-controlled organizations have used aggressive tactics to lobby against the bill, including placing full-page advertisements in local newspapers and faxing or mailing thousands of petitions to City Council members.

Statistics:

• 13.7%: The smoking rate in cities with workplace smoking bans, according to a recent study at the University of California, San Diego.
• 19.5%: The smoking rate in cities without workplace smoking bans, according to the same study.
• 2,000: The number of people employed by Philip Morris Cos.'s headquarters, which the company threatened to relocate if the legislation passes in its current form.
• 8,000: The total number of restaurants in New York City, according to the New York State Restaurant Association.
• 2,000: The number of restaurants represented by the New York State Restaurant Association, which opposes the smoking ban.
• $50: The fine that smokers may face for violating the Clean Indoor Air Act.
• $100: The fine that business owners may face for their first two offenses under the new regulations.
• $500: The fine that business owners may face for additional infractions within a year.

Sources:

• The New York Daily News
• Philip Morris Cos.
• The Tobacco Institute, a Washington, D.C., lobbying group
• Stanton R. Glantz, PhD, professor of medicine at the University of California, San Francisco
• The University of California, San Diego
• The City Council of New York City
• The New York State Restaurant Association
• Smoke-Free Educational Services, an anti-smoking group