House Bill 2 and current options for local governments Tobacco Free Parks: Moving Forward with Local Authority.

House Bill 2 and current options for local governments

Tobacco Free Parks:Moving Forward with Local Authority

Elisabeth Constandy, MSNC Division of Public Health

Tobacco Prevention and Control Branch

Tobacco Free Parks:

Local Authority

• Recent legislation has increased local government authority to regulate tobacco use– Interior of local government buildings (2008)– Local government vehicles (2009)– Local government grounds, and certain public places

(2010)• House Bill 2 (S.L.2009-27), which most people know as the “Smoke

Free Restaurant and Bar Law”, has additional components

What HB2 (SL 2009-27) Means for Local Government

• Expands local government authority to regulate smoking

• Clear authority now exists for regulating smoking on government owned and/or occupied grounds, and for public places.

• Became effective January 2, 2010.

http://www.ncga.state.nc.us/Sessions/2009/Bills/House/PDF/H2v10.pdf

Grounds

Defined as:• An unenclosed area owned, leased, or

occupied by local government.• Examples may include

– Tobacco-free grounds around buildings– Tobacco-free parks and recreation grounds– Tobacco-free government owned outdoor

entertainment venues (amphitheaters).

Smoking vs Tobacco

Local governments have authority to regulate ALL tobacco products, not just smoking.

Legislation addresses smoking only, due to prior legislation that restricted local authority on regulating smoking. (Authority was always there for smokeless products to be regulated.)

Who may pass local regulations?

Tobacco Free Parks:

“Any local political subdivision of this State, any airport authority, or any authority or body created by any joint resolution, ordinance, or rules of any such entity.”

• County Commissioners• City/Town Council• Boards of Health / Public Health Authorities **• Airport Authorities

• **One unique characteristic of the smoking law is that it requires boards of county commissioners to adopt an ordinance approving any smoking rule adopted by a local board of health after July 1, 2009. Local boards of health are not required to have this type of approval for any other types of rules that they adopt.

Process for Passing Ordinances, Rules, and Policies per HB2

Cities, Towns, and Villages:• These municipal entities may pass regulations

per HB2 authority to cover government owned or occupied buildings, vehicles and grounds as well as public places in their own incorporated areas, and do not need any additional approval from a Board of County Commissioners.

Process for Passing Ordinances, Rules, and Policies per HB2

County Government:• Authority to pass a Board of County

Commissioners ordinance per HB2 authority that covers government owned or occupied buildings, vehicles and grounds as well as public places in the unincorporated areas. Municipalities within the County may choose to adopt that ordinance within their boundaries. Municipalities are not required to adopt the ordinance, and may withdraw permitting the ordinance at a future time.

Process for Passing Ordinances, Rules, and Policies per HB2

Boards of Health:

• Authority to pass Rules per HB2 authority that may cover government owned or occupied buildings, vehicles and grounds as well as public places in the entire county, including municipalities. At this point, it would need to be approved by an ordinance adopted by the Board of County Commissioners before it could become effective. Municipalities do not have to agree to adopt the ordinance in order for it to be effective for their jurisdictions.

Why do this?

Tobacco Free Parks:

13,720

12,583

2,653

2,350

1,743

1,516

1,363

910

758

606

531

0 2,000 4,000 6,000 8,000 10,000 12,000 14,000 16,000

Tobacco

Diet/Phys. Inactivity

Alcohol

Microbial Agents

Toxic Agents

Medical Error

Motor Vehicles

Firearms

Uninsurance

Sexual Behavior

Illicit Drug Use

Estimated Number of Deaths

Estimated Preventable Causes of Death in North Carolina (2007)

Source: North Carolina State Center for Health Statistics (NC SCHS), Health Profile of North Carolinians: 2009 Update – May 2009North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services.

Outdoor Tobacco Smoke (OTS)

Studies are now exploring the risks of exposure to secondhandsmoke in outdoor areas.

• OTS can present a nuisance or hazard under certain conditions, and people may receive significant exposure in situations such as:– Sitting with or next to an active smoker at an outdoor dining area or

on a park bench– Standing near an active smoker outside a building– Children accompanying a smoking parent or guardian

Kleipis, Ott and Switzer. Real-time measurement of outdoor tobacco smoke particles. J. Air & Waste Manage. Assoc. 57:522–534. 2007.

Kleipis, et al. Outdoor air pollution in close proximity to a continuous point source. Atmospheric Environment 43 (2009) 3155–3167. 2009.

Litter

Environmental organizations consistently reportcigarette butts as a leading cause of litter• Keep America Beautiful• Ocean Conservancy• NC Big Sweep

Healthy Children and Families

• Children model adult behavior, and tobacco free parks reinforce healthy lifestyle messages

• Small children playing in parks and on recreation grounds are more likely to ingest cigarette butts if they are discarded and accessible

• In 2008, American Poison Control Centers received over 7,000 reports of children under the age of 6 being poisoned by contact with tobacco products

Increasing Momentum…

This is a popular topic:The American Nonsmokers’ Rights Foundation

reports close to 500 municipalities have 100% Smoke Free Parks, AND 100 municipalities have 100% Smoke Free Beaches

This can be done!

Building Support

Tobacco Free Parks:

First Steps

• Identify Local Champions• Assess Readiness• Local Data

Identify Local Champions

• Identify Local Champions– Who could be a Champion?

• Parks & Recreation Board• Environmental Groups• Parent Groups• Pet Owners• Your TRU Group!

• Are you already partially there?– Past work / Tobacco Free “Zones”

Assessing Readiness

• Find out where leadership is on the issue– Existing regulations

• Interior of government buildings?• Logical steps to take

• If support doesn’t exist, we can help!

Local Data

• Survey Results– Recent survey of local regulations– Know your community!

Local Data

FletcherLocustBelmont - ordCherryville - ordLowellMt HollyWhitakersSharpsburgLenoir - ordBoiling SpringsWendell - ordMarionHillsborough - codeSmithfieldPlymouth

HamletPink HillCramertonCantonOakboroRandlemanLa GrangeBoone - ordMt OliveKings MtnBald Head IslandKill Devil HillsAsheville - ordSwansboroElizabethtown

Municipalities listed below are reporting smoke free or tobacco free parks:

Media Advocacy

• Where do your local newspapers stand on the topic?– Opportunity for Editorial Board piece– Where did they stand on HB2?

• Factoid campaigns• LTE’s

Resources

Tobacco Free Parks:

Developing Online Toolkit• Model Ordinances

– All government grounds (city & county versions)– Parks and Recreation grounds (city & county versions)– Public Places (city and county versions)

• Resolutions– Board of Health for all areas of local authority, and

specifically for Parks & Recreation grounds only.– Parks and Recreation Council / Committee to City Council

or Board of Commissioners

Webinars

• “Is Your Community Ready?” webinar has been rescheduled for Jan 24, 2011

• A webinar is being planned for municipal partners, to address local authority and options– February, 2011– Opportunity to convene a meeting!

• Webinar for Parks and Recreation partners– Exploring opportunity with NCSU

Local Efforts

CDC/ASSIST CoordinatorsHi-Top ASSIST Coalition (Cherokee, Clay, Graham, Haywood, Jackson, Macon, Madison, Swain and

Transylvania)Traci Clark Phone: (828) 452-6675 [email protected]

Buncombe ASSIST Coalition Karen Caldwell Phone: (828) 250-5048 [email protected]

Northwest Tobacco Prevention Coalition (Alleghany, Ashe, Wilkes, Caldwell, Watauga)Teri VanDyke Phone: (828) 264-4995 [email protected]

Guilford County ASSIST Coalition Mary Gillett Phone: (336) 641-6000 [email protected]

Wake County ASSIST Coalition Ronda Sanders Phone: (919) 212-9292 [email protected]

New Hanover/Brunswick/Pender Coalition Erin Morrissette Phone: (910) 798-6658 [email protected]

Craven/Pamlico/Lenoir ASSIST Coalition Moneka Morris Phone: (252) 636-4920 x 2019 [email protected]

Mecklenburg ASSIST Coalition Lovemore Masakadza Phone: (704) 336-4660

[email protected]

Local efforts?

Policies vs ordinances?

Tobacco Free Parks:

Contact InformationElisabeth K. Constandy, MSDirector of Program DevelopmentNC Tobacco Prevention and Control BranchOffice: 910-790-6007Cell: 919-219-7663 Mailing address:

1932 Mail Service CenterRaleigh, NC 27699-1932

tobaccopreventionandcontrol.ncdhhs.govsmokefree.nc.gov