Nebraska's Smoke-Free Worksites Law Should be Mirrored by Other States, Editorial Says

Nebraska's smoke-free worksites law is doing what it was intended to do, and other states should follow suit, according to a story in the Dakota County Star.

Nebraska's smoke-free worksites law was first implemented two years ago, beginning June 1, 2009. The law is designed to promote healthy environments in worksites.

"We want to keep individuals from secondhand smoke and healthy," Pam Devries, R.N., Dakota County Public Health Department Nurse Director, told the Star. "The indoor air act is to keep people healthy and protect public health."

The nation went from zero comprehensive smokefree worksites laws in 2000 to 25 in 2010. In an editorial, the Star said it hopes that the other 25 states will join Nebraska and Iowa with such laws.

Nebraska's law eliminates smoking in enclosed indoor workspaces including restaurants, bars, keno establishments and other workplaces (retail/office space, manufacturing, etc.) and indoor public places. The only exceptions are the following:

• up to 20 percent of hotel rooms;
  
• tobacco-only retailers defined as a “store that sells only tobacco and products directly related to tobacco. Products directly related to tobacco do not include alcohol, coffee, soft drinks, candy, groceries or gasoline;”
  
• facilities researching the health effects of smoking; and
  
• private residences, except when a residence is being used as a licensed child care program.

Also, businesses that qualify as cigar bars are provided an exemption from the law, although such businesses may not permit the smoking of cigarettes.

Tobacco MSA Legislation Signed by Nebraska Governor; Criticized by Winnebago Tribe Leader
The chief executive of Ho-Chunk, the Ho-Chunk Winnebago's economic arm, criticized legislation passed by the Nebraska Legislature to address compliance with the Master Settlement Agreement.

In a story published in Indian Country Today, Ho-Chunk CEO Lance Morgan was quoted as saying LB590 is, "a deliberate attempt to wipe out tribal tobacco competition in Nebraska because the legislation specifically singles out Indian tribes."

LB590, introduced by Grand Island Sen. Mike Gloor, changes law regulating tobacco licenses, tobacco sales, cigarette taxes, the state directory of cigarettes, escrow deposits under the tobacco Master Settlement Agreement (MSA) and reporting requirements. The bill was passed by the legislature Monday, May 23, and was approved by Gov. Dave Heineman Thursday, May 26.

Ho-Chunk, Inc., which is located on the Winnebago Reservation in Northeast Nebraska, owns HCI Distribution.According to the website for HCI Distribution, "HCI Distribution is one of the largest Tribal cigarette and tobacco distributors in the U.S. Since we began operations we’ve helped our Tribal customers throughout the country make more money on Tribal and other brands of cigarettes and tobacco products. Selling HCI Distribution products is more profitable for you because our prices on select brands are lower than our competition. And fast convenient service is our #1 priority."

Letter Writer: Nebraska Should Raise the Tax on Tobacco Products
"Nebraska should raise the tax on tobacco products and use the money on important state programs," according to letter writer Mark Welsch of Omaha. Welsch, president of GASP, wrote to the Omaha World Herald in reference to LB436, which would raise the tax on cigarettes and other tobacco products. The bill sits in revenue committee.

Nebraska Governor Signs Legislation to Cut Tobacco Prevention, Cessation Program

This past week, the Nebraska Governor signed legislation that would, among other actions, cut Nebraska's program to prevent smoking and tobacco use and help Nebraskans quit smoking and other tobacco products.

LB378 transfers $485,700 from the Tobacco Control and Prevention Cash Fund to the Health and Human Services Cash Fund, and makes other transfers. 

The new funding level will be $2.4 million for Nebraska's program to prevent tobacco use and help Nebraskans quit smoking and quit tobacco use, down from $2.9 million.

Tobacco Settlement Compliance Bill Passes
Monday May 23, the Nebraska Legislature passed regulations intended to keep the state in compliance with an agreement with tobacco manufacturers.

Sen. Mike Gloor of Grand Island introduced LB590. The bill changes laws regulating tobacco licenses, tobacco sales, cigarette taxes, the state directory of cigarettes, escrow deposits under the Master Settlement Agreement and reporting requirements.

According to the Unicameral Update, the tobacco settlement bill, among other provisions, would include the following enforcement measures:

• requiring nonparticipating manufacturers to post bond and certify they have posted such bond;
  
• holding importers liable for escrow deposits of nonparticipating manufacturers;
  
• requiring nonparticipating manufacturers to make escrow payments on a quarterly basis;
  
• increasing the frequency of stamping agent reports and holding agents liable for nonparticipating manufacturers escrow payments if their products are stamped;
  
• revoking stamping agent licenses for inadequate reporting, outstanding escrow deposits or sales of unstamped cigarettes;
  
• requiring cigarette manufacturers and importers to report all sales into Nebraska within 15 days;
  
• removing manufacturers from the state directory that fail to submit required reports; and
  
• revoking stamp agent licenses and removing manufacturers from the state directory for violations of similar laws in other states.

The bill passed 48-0.

Smoking Rates Up in Dawson County
Smoking rates are up in Dawson County, according to Terry Krohn, Two Rivers Public Health Director. Krohn made that report to the Dawson County Board of Commissioners, according to the Lexington Clipper-Herald.

Nebraska Lagging in Reducing Smoking, UNMC Dean Says
Nebraska is lagging in reducing smoking, according to the dean and professor of the College of Public Health at UNMC. In a commentary published in the Omaha World Herald, Dr. Ayman El-Mohandes encouraged Nebraskans to make a plan to quit smoking.

Tobacco Industry Meeting Gets Visit from Nebraska Students
Five Nebraska students went to New York City to learn about the tobacco industry and attend a Philip Morris shareholders meeting.

“I joined because I wanted to learn more about what big tobacco companies were doing and now that I’ve been in it, I really want to stop them from targeting the youth and trying to get the youth to start using tobacco,” Kearney High School sophomore Sky Oldham told the Kearney Hub.

"I wanted to get my word across to Philip Morris that the youth don't like that they are targeting youth, targeting us," Oldham said. "I wanted to get my word across that we don't like what they're doing."

At the shareholders meeting Philip Morris CEO Louis Camilleri told a nurse that smoking "is not that hard to quit," according to the Associated Press.

The youths were protesting the rising global toll of tobacco-related death and disease caused by Philip Morris' products, according to Nebraska.TV.

Master Settlement Agreement Legislation Advances

LINCOLN (AP) — A bill creating additional cigarette regulations advanced last week through a first-round legislative vote, as reported by the Associated Press and the Unicameral Update.

The measure would call for state officials to reach compacts with tribes so they could collect money to comply with a national legal settlement with the four largest U.S. tobacco companies.

The four companies have claimed recently that states are failing to collect escrow payments from smaller tobacco manufacturers that were not part of the settlement.

Sandy Creek Student Wins State Tar Wars Contest

Sandy Creek fifth-grader Jalyn Shafer is the winner of  the 2011 Nebraska Academy of Family Physicians Foundation’s Nebraska TarWars poster contest. The Clay County News reported that the Foundation sponsors the contest each year to reinforce the message of living tobacco free.

By being selected the top poster for Nebraska, Jayln's poster will move on to Washington, D.C. to represent the state at the National Poster Contest. Tar Wars will also provide a trip and lodging for Jalyn and a parent to travel to Washington, D.C. as well.

Tar Wars is a tobacco education program sponsored by the American Academy of Family Physicians. The program reaches 400,000 students annually.

A bill that would help Nebraska keep payments from a national legal settlement with U.S. tobacco companies advanced on the floor of the Nebraska legislature last week, as reported by KLKN TV.

The bill, which advanced 38-0, is designed to help Nebraska secure its part of the health care money from a 1998 settlement with the four companies.

LB590, introduced by Sen. Mike Gloor of Grand Island, would make a number of changes that would address issues resulting from the tobacco Master Settlement Agreement (MSA) between 46 states, including Nebraska, with the four largest tobacco companies in Nebraska.

LB590 would establish uniform licensing, stamping, and reporting provisions for tobacco product manufacturers, stamping agents, and wholesalers of cigarettes and roll-your-own tobacco. It would also clarify and enhance enforcement pertaining to those distributing tobacco in this state. 

Tobacco companies have alleged recently that states are failing to collect escrow payments from companies that were not part of the settlement.

The escrow payments were required as part of the settlement to keep small manufacturers from having an unfair advantage.


 

Nebraska Senator Calls Proposal to Increase Cigarette Tax Excessive
A proposal to raise the state's cigarette tax from 64 cents per pack to $1.99 per pack would be a "massive tax increase in new state revenue," according to Sen. Norm Wallman of Cortland. The proposed increase, he said, is excessive. 

In a column published in the Beatrice Daily Sun, Sen. Wallman said he doesn't "think smokers should bear an unfair burden for our state shortfall."

LB436 would increase the tax on cigarettes from 64 cents per pack to $1.99 per pack, and would increase the tax on other tobacco products from 20 percent of wholesale to 65 percent of wholesale. Earlier this month, the Revenue Committee considered raising the cigarette tax from 64 cents per pack to $1.28 per pack. A motion to advance that proposal from the Legislature’s Revenue Committee failed to get a second. The bill remains in Revenue Committee.

New Report: Nebraska One of Half of States with Smoke-Free Worksites Law
Nearly half of U.S. residents are covered by state or local indoor smoke-free worksites laws, according to a CDC report issued this week.

Another ten states have laws that require smoke-free workplaces in bars or restaurants, or non-hospitality workplaces, the Omaha World Herald reported.

Tobacco smoke is a cause of lung cancer, heart disease and other maladies, according to the article.

New Study Details Smoking Rates in Dakota and Thurston Counties
According to a newly released study, 23 percent of adult residents of Dakota County and 34 percent of adult Thurston County residents smoke.

Smoking was one of a number of health factors that were examined in a report that placed Dakota County as 74th of 75 ranked counties for health in Nebraska, as reported by the Dakota County Star.

In Nebraska, 20 percent of adults smoke, placing the smoking rate for Dakota and Thurston counties above the state average.

The County Health Rankings examined behaviors including smoking, adult obesity, excessive drinking and deaths in motor vehicle crashes, providing county-by-county health comparisons throughout the United States.

Cigarette Tax Bill Stalls in Revenue Committee
A proposal to raise Nebraska’s cigarette taxes failed Wednesday to advance from a state legislative committee.

LB436 would increase the tax on cigarettes from 64 cents per pack to $1.99 per pack, and would increase the tax on other tobacco products from 20 percent of wholesale to 65 percent of wholesale. Last week, the Revenue Committee considered raising the cigarette tax from 64 cents per pack to $1.28 per pack. A motion to advance that proposal from the Legislature’s Revenue Committee failed to get a second.

That makes it doubtful that the cigarette tax increase will be considered this year, according to the Omaha World Herald. Revenue Committee chairwoman Sen. Abbie Cornett of Bellevue, who chairs that committee, told the paper it would be difficult to advance such a tax hike this year even if it were smaller.

If the cigarette tax increase is advanced out of committee, however, it could be attached to another bill, Revenue Chairwoman Abbie Cornett told the Lincoln Journal Star.

The bill continues to generate discussion in Nebraska newspapers.

"Legislative Bill 436 (increasing the cigarette tax) would not save lives," according to Omaha World Herald letter writer Steven Durant. "People are going to smoke and drink regardless of cost and consequences. Alcohol and tobacco are the true gateway drugs in our society and are both socially acceptable."

"Education, not legislation, is the answer," he said.

"I sometimes wish I were a kid again so my only worry was if I was caught smoking. When you find tobacco in every cupboard or refrigerator like you do booze, then it’s time to raise the cigarette tax," said Kearney Hub letter writer Roger Mattson of Courtland, Kan., formerly of Kearney.

Bill to Collect Tribal Tobacco Payments Forwarded to Full Nebraska Legislature
A bill that would create a process for the state of Nebraska to collect revenue from tribes for tobacco sales was forwarded out of the Revenue Committee Wednesday.

Winnebago tribal leader Lance Morgan, CEO of Ho-Chunk Inc., his tribe's economic arm, told the Lincoln Journal Star that his tribe doesn't fully support changes made in the bill, some of which were negotiated with the tribe, but also wouldn't oppose the bill. The tribe had opposed the bill prior to amendments when it was heard in March by the Revenue Committee.

The bill (LB590), introduced by Sen. Mike Gloor of Grand Island, would allow state officials to negotiate compacts with tribes to collect revenue from tribal tobacco sales.

Nebraska is seeking to collect tribal tobacco payments in order to continue receiving millions of dollars each year through a national settlement agreement that was reached with the four largest tobacco companies in 1998. The tribe doesn't share with the state any of the nearly $250,000 it collects each year in taxes on cigarette sales, nor does it get payments from the tobacco settlement.

Homeless Shelter's Plans to Build Smoking Room Questioned
"Did I understand the March 16 Hub’s 'Crossroads to try again' to say that their plans for building a homeless shelter include providing a 'smoking room?'"

That's the question posed by Kearney Hub letter writer Mary Cocetti of Kearney. 


"Having been in buildings where smokers were to isolate themselves from nonsmokers, I know that it just isn’t possible," she said. "Smoke permeates the air. Moreover, it contaminates hair, skin and clothing, which then inflicts it upon nonsmokers — many of them children — in the living, dining and bedroom areas."


The Kearney Hub reported March 16 that plans for a homeless shelter in Kearney include 16 bedrooms, a kitchen and dining area, meeting rooms, five living areas, a patio and a smoking room. It reported March 18 that the City Planning Commission has approved those plans. The proposal is subject to final approval of the Kearney City Council. 

Nebraska's smoke-free air law requires that indoor worksites be smokefree. The law provides exceptions for businesses designated as cigar bars, tobacco-only retailers, a percentage of hotel rooms, facilities researching health effects of smoking and private residences, except when a residence is being used as a licensed child care program.

Local Health Department Names Smoking as a Top Health Priority
Smoking is one of six top public health priorities in Nebraska, according to Dr. David Lindley, West Central District Health Department medical director and board president.

Obesity, coronary artery disease, diabetes, poor nutrition, lack of exercise and smoking are the top public health priorities in Nebraska, he told the North Platte Telegraph. These priorities are about the same in every state, he said.

The WCDHD stressed the importance of "the silent branch of medicine" as part of National Public Health Week, which ran April 4 through April 10.

Public health has had a number of successes, according to Dr. Lindley. Among them are tobacco-use related successes.

"Clean air to breathe, healthy water to drink and safe food to eat are a given in our society....," Dr. Lindley said. "(W)e have had a reduction in heart disease, which is a leading cause of death."

Youth Congress Focuses on Preventing Smoking, Tobacco Use
A program in the Omaha Public Schools seeks to keep young people from smoking through outreach by their peers, according to a story this morning on KIOS.

Four times during the school year, students in three grades meet in Youth Congress to discuss real-world strategies for drug prevention.

Toni Hernandez, Drug Prevention Specialist for the Omaha Public Schools, told KIOS that minors who smoke are beginning that habit at a younger age.

"We know that there are teens that are using. We know that the average age that children try a drug now is 11 and a half. So that's pretty scary. So by sixth grade it could be too late to prevent the use for some students."

Youth Involvement in Preventing Tobacco Use Applauded
Three students from West Point-Beemer High School took a stand against smoking and visited their state senator in March. 

State Sen. Lydia Brasch of Bancroft applauded them for their efforts in her legislative update published last week in the Norfolk Daily News and elsewhere.

"It’s good to see our youth involved and making wise choices," said Sen. Brasch.

TriValley Health System Partners to Offer Smoking Cessation, Healthy Living Options
TriValley Health System, which operates clinics in Arapahoe, Cambridge and Indianola, is partnering with Wellness Partners to expand offerings for healthy living, including smoking cessation. The goal is to promote healthier people in Southwest Nebraska and Northwest Kansas, according to an article in the McCook Gazette.

Heart disease is the leading cause of death in the United States; cancer the second leading cause; and stroke the third leading cause, according to the article. Smoking is a major contributor to heart disease and stroke, according to the article. It also contributes to lung cancer, and increases the risk for a variety of other cancers, according to the American Cancer Society.

Nebraskans: Increasing the Cigarette Tax Would Save Lives, Offset Mental Health Cuts; Cigar Association: Tobacco Tax Increase Would Hurt Businesses
"One choice we should all support is the proposed state tobacco tax increase (Legislative Bill 436).... This bill would save lives, plain and simple."

That's what John Cavanaugh, Executive Director of Building Bright Futures in Omaha, said in an opinion piece published in the Omaha World Herald this week, referring to LB436, which would raise the cigarette tax by $1.35 per pack.

Cavanaugh cited research from the Campaign for Tobacco Free Kids that says a $1.35 per-pack cigarette tax increase would prevent 19,500 Nebraska kids from smoking, encourage 10,000 adult smokers to quit and prevent 8,800 smoking-caused deaths.

"A $1.35 increase in the cigarette tax would save the State of Nebraska $436.3 million in long-term tobacco-related health care costs and, once again, save the lives of countless smokers-to-be," according to Cavanaugh.

A recent state poll showed that 73 percent of Nebraska voters surveyed support raising the cigarette tax by $1.35 per pack, Cavanaugh said.

Tammie Blaha, a Goodwill services representative, told Nebraska TV that revenue from the proposed cigarette tax increase would benefit mental health services in Nebraska. 

The state is considering a budget that includes a cut of 4 percent for those services.

"It could be a significant loss for the people we serve," said Blaha.

"We want the developmentally challenged to have service," said Sen. Mike Gloor, sponsor of LB436.

Sen. Gloor's cigarette tax and tobacco tax increase proposal includes an allocation of $30 million to offset health care cuts.

"It would benefit directly to our program," said Blaha.

The Hastings Tribune posted an editorial cartoon on the proposed cigarette tax increase. The cartoon features a man in a hard hat smoking, seated on his lunch pail next to a power line. He's reading a newspaper with the headline, "Governor Won't Support Cigarette Tax Increase." The man exclaims, "What a relief! A cigarette tax hike would've killed me!"

Hastings letter writer Laura M. Petersen said in a letter to the Omaha World Herald that she's "trying to figure out how a tax increase for a minority group of smokers in Nebraska would increase the state's revenue.... We are long overdue to use common sense, instead of politics, to raise our families."

In a news release listed posted online in public relations and tobacconist websites, the legislative director of the IPCPR said, "A 225 percent increase in Nebraska excise taxes on certain tobacco products would be harmful to businesses throughout the state." The spokesman for these comments is listed in the news release as Christ McCalla. A Chris McCalla is listed on LinkedIn Legislative Director for the International Premium Cigar & Pipe Retailers Association (IPCPR) and as being from the Columbus, Georgia area.

Beatrice Health Expo Set for April 9
Health Awareness 2011 will take place Saturday, April 9, from 7:30 a.m. to 10:30 a.m. at the Southeast Community College Truman Center in Beatrice, according to the Beatrice Daily Sun.

Smoking cessation will be among topics addressed at the booths.

Admission for the expo is free, although there will be a cost for certain services. The expo is for adults 18 and older.

Quit Smoking for a Healthier Heart
Quit Smoking. That's one of five steps Nebraskans can take to have a healthier heart, according to a column published in the Gretna Breeze.

"A smoker's risk of having a heart attack is more than twice that of a non-smoker, said Laura Anderson in the piece submitted by Alegent Health Communications/PR Department.

State Senator Considers Amending Cigarette Tax Bill; Nebraskans Sound Off About Increasing Cigarette Tax
 Nebraska Sen. Mike Gloor said he wants to amend LB436, his proposal to raise the cigarette tax in Nebraska, by 64 cents per pack rather by $1.35 per pack. That's what he told NET Radio this week. A raise in the cigarette tax from 64 cents per pack to $1.28 cents per pack would still be enough to discourage kids from smoking and help some adults to quit, according to Gloor. The revision should address concerns that a cigarette tax increase would drive Nebraskans to other states with a lower cigarette tax rate, Gloor told NET Radio, and strengthen the chances of the bill being voted out of the Revenue Committee, where it sits now.

Nebraskans sounded off on the measure.

"Kudos to Sen. Mike Gloor," for proposing raise funds with cigarette taxes, and shame on Gov. Dave Heineman for saying he won't sign the measure, while proposing a 5 percent cut to Medicaid provider rates over the next two years. That's the message shared by Lincoln Journal Star letter writer David L. Foster of Brainard.

The letter came following comments Governor Dave Heineman made in a March 19 interview with the Associated Press, as reported in the Yankton Press & Dakotan and elsewhere. “The proposed increase ”is all about additional spending. It would be one thing if they were going to take the money and reduce taxes somewhere else. This bill is going to increase the cigarette tax to spend money. To me, it just doesn’t make sense.“

Kyle Michaelis of the New Nebraska Network blogged that while he's concerned that the proposal to raise the cigarette tax and the tobacco tax in LB436 would mean, "exploiting the addiction of an economically disadvantaged population to balance our state's budget," he's "absolutely appalled by Gov. Dave Heineman's cheap dismissal of this or any tax increase while the state legislature works to balance close to a billion dollar deficit in our state's budget."

The state of Nebraska has a genuine interest in the education and health of its citizens, according to Michaelis, and Nebraska state senators owe this and other potential tax hikes full consideration and an open debate.

Nebraska Teens Promote Tobacco Free Kids, Efforts to Help People Quit Smoking and Quit Tobacco

It's cheaper for teens to buy a cigarette than to buy a bottle of water.

That's the message teens brought to Lincoln Wednesday at the No Limits Nebraska rally. About 100 Nebraska teens traveled to the state capitol Wednesday, while others and prepared radio ads in recognition of Kick Butts Day.

"90% of adult daily smokers start while in their teens," Amanda Mortensen, Project Coordinator of No Limits, told 10/11 News. "So we really want to talk with the youth that raise awareness about this issue and how it's affecting teens, because if we can decrease the number of teens that are starting to use tobacco, then we're going to ultimately decrease the number of people who are dying from tobacco."

The No Limits Rally at the capitol was one of several events throughout the state that recognized Kick Butts Day. Kick Butts Day is an annual day sponsored by the Campaign for Tobacco Free Kids to help promote tobacco free kids and tobacco prevention.

Students from Doniphan-Trumbull and Heartland Lutheran High Schools, where they handed out stickers, pamphlets, bracelets, and temporary tattoos at Hy-Vee in Grand Island Wednesday morning to help Nebraskans kick their tobacco habit to the curb. And students in Platte and Colfax counties produced radio ads highlighting the dangers of secondhand smoke.

Danny McGoldrick of the Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids, in his comments about Kick Butts Day events, told the Nebraska Radio Network that one sure way to discourage smoking is to make cigarettes more expensive.

“Nebraska’s tobacco tax is about half of the national average and we estimate that increasing Nebraska’s tobacco tax by $1.35, which is what’s being considered, would not only prevent almost 20,000 Nebraska kids from becoming smokers and encourage about 10,000 Nebraska smokers to quit, but it would also raise important new revenue for the state.”

Also in the news this week, No Limits, Nebraska’s youth-led tobacco prevention movement, is accepting applications for its 2011-12 youth board.

Hookah Bar Pledges to Seek Cigar Bar Status to Offer Smoking and Beverages

An Omaha business that permits smoking hookah indoors sought a permit to sell alcohol from the Omaha City Council Tuesday.

The council denied the application by the Oasis Hookah Bar, saying that for it to sell alcohol and permit smoking, it must seek status as a cigar bar.

A hookah is a water pipe used to smoke tobacco through cooled water. The tobacco is heated in the bowl at the top of the hookah and the smoke is filtered through the water in the base of the hookah.

The Nebraska Legislature in 2008 passed a smoke-free worksites law that prohibited smoking in indoor public places. In 2009, the Nebraska Legislature passed a bill brought forward by Sen. Scott Lautenbaugh of Omaha that created a new class of business as cigar bars. That exemption permits those businesses to permit smoking of cigars and other non-cigarette products.

“If they want (to sell) alcohol, they’ll have to become a cigar bar,” the Omaha World Herald quoted Deputy City Attorney Tom Mumgaard as saying.

Sen. Lautenbaugh (@Lautenbaugh) tweeted: "Headline of the year so far- OWH Midlands- "No Alcohol Without Cigars, City Says"- sounds extreme even to me! (but, thanks, city)"

Jesse Hill, a co-owner of Oasis, said he would sell cigars to get a liquor license, according to the Omaha World Herald. “Our focus is not going to be on cigars. We didn’t open to be a cigar bar. We opened to be a hookah bar.”

Jamal Husein, owner of the former hookah bar Sultana’s Kahve in Lincoln, continues to sell hookah pipes and smoking materials for use elsewhere.

“I don’t know if selling alcohol is a good idea,” he told the Omaha World Herald. “If somebody who has consumed too much alcohol monkeys with the coals, they could burn themselves.”

Hastings Public Schools On Path Toward Tobacco Free School Campuses

Next fall when Hastings students return to school, they will return to campuses that are tobacco-free.

That's what will happen if the Hastings Board of Education gives second-round approval in April to a measure addressed last week by the board. Monday the board gave first-round approval to a measure that will require that all Hastings Public Schools property and facilities be tobacco-free beginning August 1, as reported by the Hastings Tribune.

Hastings Public School buildings and school vehicles have been smoke-free since 1989. Since that time, it has also been against policy for Hastings Public Schools employees and students to use tobacco while participating in class activity or in activities in which they represented Hastings Public Schools.

As proposed, the new policy would not extend to property that is leased or used by Hastings Public Schools that it does not own.

The issue of tobacco-free school campuses has received attention this year as a result of a bill proposed by State Sen. Jeremy Nordquist of Omaha. The bill, LB313, would require school campuses throughout Nebraska to be tobacco-free.

Several tobacco use prevention and related bills remain in committee at the Nebraska Legislature. Monday, Speaker Mike Flood made as a speaker priority LB590, which would address requirements of the tobacco Master Settlement Agreement.

LB 313, Tobacco Free Schools, Jeremy Nordquist
Adopt the Tobacco-Free Schools Act and change school accreditation provisions.
The Education Committee heard this bill Tuesday, February 8.

LB374, State Funding including Tobacco Program, Mike Flood
Appropriate funds for state government expenses (includes tobacco prevention programming).
This bill was heard Monday, February 7, by the Appropriations Committee.

LB 436, Tobacco Tax, Mike Gloor
Change provisions relating to taxation of cigarettes and tobacco products.
This bill was heard Friday, March 4, by the Revenue Committee.

LB511, Blunt Wrap Tobacco Wrappers, Mark Christensen
Restrict the use and sale of blunt wrap tobacco wrappers as prescribed.
Sen. Christensen withdrew this bill from consideration Friday, February 4.

LB 590, Master Settlement Agreement, Mike Gloor
Change provisions relating to cigarette taxation.
This bill was heard Wednesday, March 2, by the Revenue Committee.
The bill was made a speaker priority bill Monday, March 14.