Nashville Eye: Support those who are trying to quit the tobacco habit
by Senator Diane Black
The Tennessean

As an emergency room nurse, I have seen firsthand the human side of the toll that tobacco reaps on health in Tennessee.

Tobacco use is claiming our friends, our parents, our siblings and our children. More than 9,600 Tennesseans die every year as a direct result of tobacco use while thousands of smokers and non-smokers alike die from breathing secondhand smoke. Despite the known dangers, 1.2 million Tennesseans over age 18 smoke and more than 14,000 Tennessee youths become regular smokers each year (That's almost a third of our high school aged children).

The science is clear. Smoking causes cancer and heart disease, as well as a number of other very serious illnesses that include bronchitis, emphysema, stomach ulcers and low-birth weight children.

If the health toll weren't enough, tobacco use also represents an enormous economic burden on our state. As a state senator, it is impossible to ignore the savings that education, awareness and common sense tobacco control measures would provide for Tennessee. According to the Campaign for Tobacco Free Kids, Tennessee spends $1.69 billion annually in health-care costs and $2.44 billion in productivity losses due to tobacco use.

The good news about tobacco is that outcomes from its use are preventable. Therefore it is critically important for all of us to spread the word about the seriousness of the consequences of tobacco use. I urge you to join me in talking to our children about not taking up smoking and to avoid using spit tobacco. These small steps can make a big impact on the unnecessary illness, suffering and death in our state.

I also encourage you to provide support to those who are trying to quit. Today is the Great American Smokeout, which is a wonderful opportunity to encourage a loved one to join millions of smokers from across the nation to kick the habit for a day.

Meanwhile, there are several organizations in Nashville standing ready to help those who want to quit. More information on how you can help can be found from the Campaign for a Healthy and Responsible Tennessee (www.tnchart.org ), a grassroots coalition made up of more than 50 partner organizations including the American Cancer Society, the American Heart Association, and the American Lung Association of Tennessee as well as thousands of individual members who are concerned about the impact of tobacco on health.

As a member of the legislature, my commitment to tobacco control extends beyond personal stewardship. There is much that must also be taken up at the state level as well. For example, there is a provision in our state law that prevents local governments from passing their own tobacco-related ordinances to meet their local needs. This lack of local control means that communities and counties that want to set their own tobacco policies are barred from doing so by the state. The predicament, known as pre-emption, wrongly places all decisions for our local communities on tobacco in the hands of the state legislature.

That's why I have sponsored Senate Bill 347 (companion House Bill 263), legislation that would repeal pre-emption and restore local control for our communities. Under my bill, local governments will be permitted, if they so desire, to provide clean air through smoking restrictions in public places as deemed right for their community.

I believe strongly that local communities should have the freedom to be responsible for their own local needs. To date, more than 52% of Tennesseans live in a community that is asking the legislature to restore their local rights. More than 40 towns and counties in Tennessee have passed resolutions asking for local control over tobacco ordinances.

I hope my colleagues will join me in recognizing this serious health hazard and in doing so the need to restore local control of tobacco. Our efforts combined will protect our loved ones and future generations of Tennesseans to come.

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