February 5, 2010
CDC Releases Report on State Preemption of Local Smoke-free Laws
Substantial progress has been made toward the nation’s 2010 health goal of eliminating the number of states that preempt local smoking restrictions, according to a recent CDC report. From December 31, 2004 to December 31, 2009, the number of states that preempt local smoking restrictions in government worksites, private-sector worksites, or restaurants decreased from 19 to 12. This reduction in the number of states that preempt local smoke-free laws will allow communities to pass and enforce local laws that establish a higher standard of health protection than that provided by state law.
Legal Update Fall 2009 PDF 1.8 Mb
The Legal Update is a user-friendly newsletter from the Tobacco Control Legal Consortium that brings readers information on key legal developments affecting the tobacco control community. This issue introduces our newest law synopsis, Infiltration of Secondhand Smoke into Condominiums, Apartments and Other Multi-Unit Dwellings: 2009 (PDF, 1.8 Kb). We provide overviews of recent important tobacco cases, evolving regulation of flavored cigarettes, and tobacco control efforts in Africa. Tobacco law and policy expert Eric Lindblom is profiled, and new resources and upcoming events are listed.
To Vape or Not to Vape: Controversy Swirls Around E-Cigarettes PDF, 1.7 Mb
In the National Association of Local Boards of Health’s NewsBrief periodical (4th quarter 2009), Legal Consortium Staff Attorney Kerry Cork provides an overview of one of the newest “emerging tobacco products” – electronic cigarettes.
The Tobacco Control Legal Consortium is a national network supporting tobacco control policy change by giving advocates better access to legal expertise. The Consortium’s priorities are to help make legal technical assistance an integral part of comprehensive tobacco control programs, provide a limited degree of direct legal support and raise awareness of the role of legal services in effective policy change. Within its resources, the Consortium works to assist communities with urgent legal needs and to increase the legal resources available to the tobacco control movement.
The Consortium grew out of collaboration among existing legal programs serving five states. Drawing on the expertise of these legal centers and others, the Consortium provides legal technical assistance to support the creation of new legal programs and to help communities with urgent legal needs. Technical assistance services may include help with legislative drafting, legal research, legal analysis and strategy, training and presentations, preparation of friend-of-the-court legal briefs and litigation support.
The Consortium’s coordinating center, located at the William Mitchell College of Law in St. Paul, Minnesota, fields requests for information and coordinates the delivery of services by the collaborating legal resource centers.
» Learn more about the Tobacco Control Legal Consortium PDF, 937 Kb
Support for this program was provided in part by a grant from the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation in Princeton, New Jersey, and by the American Cancer Society.
