November 1, 2012

Stanton A. Glantz, PhD

Calif Governor Brown channels Philip Morris in vetoing smokefree nursing homes

California Governor Jerry Brown recently vetoed Assembly Bill 217, which would have made nursing homes smokefree," ignoring the mountain of evidence that secondhand smoke kills.  Our new meta-analysis, published in Circulation, means that this veto will mean more elderly California's showing up in emergency rooms with heart attacks, strokes, asthma attacks and other cardiac and respiratory emergencies.  Many will die.

His veto message uses language straight out of tobacco industry propaganda, he talks about "accommodating" residents' "preferences" to smoke, concluding, "Let's rely on ... the facility and its residents and employees to figure out which accommodations work or don't work." 

Here is what Philip Morris says on its corporate web site about the issue:

"·  Business owners – particularly owners of restaurants and bars – are most familiar with how to accommodate the needs of their patrons and should have the opportunity and flexibility to determine their own smoking policy. The public can then choose whether or not to frequent places where smoking is permitted.

·  In indoor public places where smoking is permitted, business owners should have the flexibility to decide how best to address the preferences of non-smokers and smokers through separation, separate rooms and/or high quality ventilation.

·  In private residences and in other private places, the individual owner should determine the smoking policy for that particular location."

Why the echo?

Comments

Comment: 

  Another way to sell smokefree nursing homes to idiot politicians is fire. The last time I looked 50% of fires in health care facilities in Texas  was caused by smoking and 100% of fire deaths in healthcare facilities in Texas were caused by fires. Around the nation, most of the big fires in nursing homes  causing multiple deaths were from cigarettes. Still more probably die from the secondhand smoke. Joel Dunnington MD  

Comment: 

 
The echo?&nbsp; It couldn’t be that Brown receives the largest donations from the tobacco industry than any other elected statewide politician in Sacramento, some $26,000 (http://www.center4tobaccopolicy.org/" target="_blank";www.Center4TobaccoPolicy.org)<?xml:namespace prefix = o /;
&nbsp;
Ya think?
&nbsp;
Phillip Gardiner, Dr. P. H.
&nbsp;
Policy and Regulatory Sciences
Nicotine Dependence and Neurosciences
Program Officer
&nbsp;
Tobacco Related Disease Research Program
University of California Office of the President
300 Lakeside Drive, 6th Floor
Oakland, CA 94612-3550
&nbsp;
Ph. (510) 987-9853
Fx. (510) 835-4740
mailto:[email protected]" target="_blank";[email protected]
&nbsp;
url. http://www.trdrp.org/" target="_blank";www.trdrp.org&nbsp;

Comment: 

<STRONG;Table 6 (Contributions to Constitutional Officers from Tobacco Interests (January 1, 2011 – June 30, 2012)&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;</strong;in the report shows contributions to constitutional officers, which includes statewide offices and the four Board of Equalization districts. While not being able to vote on tobacco-related legislation as state legislators can, these elected officials influence laws and government actions related to the tobacco industry. For example, the State Board of Equalization oversees the administration of cigarette and tobacco products taxes and tobacco licensing statutes. During this period, tobacco interests contributed to far fewer candidates (2 constitutional officers) than during the same period in the previous election cycle (5 constitutional officers). Even though they contributed to fewer individuals, tobacco interests still contributed more money overall. &nbsp;

Comment: 

<STRONG;Thanks, Stan, for the FYI.&nbsp; Shameful on Gov. Brown's part.&nbsp; He, an attorney no less, is disregarding</strong; <STRONG;a. &nbsp;constitutional law upholding the twin rights to pure air and to put out fires, </strong;http://medicolegal.tripod.com/pureaircases.htm" target="_blank";<STRONG;http://medicolegal.tripod.com/pureaircases.htm</strong;<STRONG; , and</strong; <STRONG;b. criminal law against causing foreseeable non-accidental&nbsp;deaths,&nbsp; </strong;http://medicolegal.tripod.com/pureairtobaccomurder.htm" target="_blank";<STRONG;http://medicolegal.tripod.com/pureairtobaccomurder.htm</strong;<STRONG; .</strong; <STRONG;--</strong;<STRONG;Leroy Pletten</strong;

Comment: 

Dr. Glantz,
Thanks for agreeing that Governor Brown’s desire to continue to exempt long-term healthcare facilities from California's smoke-free law and to permit patients to smoke INSIDE these facilities with other disabled, elderly, and medically fragile patients is absurd and echoes tobacco company language.
The readers of your blog can get further information about this shocking veto by Governor Brown and about his disappointing record, as California’s immediate past attorney general and current governor, regarding his treatment of some of our weakest members in society—our frail, vulnerable, and aging parents and
grandparents suffering in nursing homes—by reading the following story on our blog:
<strong;Governor Jerry Brown rejects bill prohibiting deadly secondhand smoke inside California long-term healthcare facilities</strong;
By http://elderabuseexposed.com/";ElderAbuseExposed.com
October 23, 2012
http://tinyurl.com/aru3cbg";http://tinyurl.com/aru3cbg
Thanks,
Elder Abuse Exposed.com

Comment: 

As I reflect on the project I am currently am working on, I can't help but come back to your blog Stan. &nbsp;Tech geeks are uniting why?
We realize the old system, of status quo politics and policy are no longer sustainable, so why not crowd source this issue. &nbsp;This is something
that could be easily done, social media and crowd sourcing. &nbsp;Here is an article I found very timely as I opened it up this AM.
It is a good way to engage...But also understand all the different ways technology is opening up government.
&nbsp;
Crowd sourcing, efficient
change. http://techcrunch.com/2012/11/03/the-20-most-innovative-people-in-democr... id=".reactRoot[3].[1][2][1]{comment462195047156719_5247461}..[1]..[1]..[0].[0][2]..[1]" rel="nofollow" target="_blank";http://techcrunch.com/2012/11/03/the-20-most-innovative-people-in-democr...
&nbsp;
All the best-
Kirsten
&nbsp;

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