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.

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.

Today, Nebraskans have a new way that they can get involved in the effort to promote tobacco free kids and to join the effort to help Nebraskans quit smoking and quit tobacco use: They can share their story of how smoking and tobacco use has impacted their lives.

Nebraskans now have the opportunity to share their story about how smoking or other tobacco use has impacted their lives, or about how efforts to promote healthy tobacco-free lives have helped them. When they do so, they will join the growing number of Nebraskans who are taking action to promote tobacco free kids and help Nebraskans quit smoking and quit tobacco use.

They'll become part of Nebraskans ACT (Action Challenging Tobacco) and add their voice to the effort to reduce tobacco use in Nebraska.

There is no cost or obligation to be part of the effort, which is sponsored by Health Education Inc., a non-profit serving the health of Nebraska for more than 30 years.

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.

"We want to change the way big tobacco targets us, the youth of Nebraska," according to a youth speaker at a Wednesday rally at the Nebraska capital to oppose big tobacco.

Brooklyn Swantek of McCool Junction addressed about 100 Nebraska youth who participated in the training and rally, which was sponsored by No Limits Nebraska and designed to recognize Kick Butts Day.

Tobacco is an issue important to the youth of Nebraska, because most Nebraskans who use tobacco products started before age 18. In fact, the tobacco industry has been quoted as saying, "Cherry Skoal is for someone who likes the taste of candy, if you know what I'm saying,"  according to Swantek, who is a member of the No Limits youth board.

Sen. Mike Gloor of Grand Island addressed the youth, saying that many mothers, fathers, grandmothers and grandfathers made a bad decision when they were kids, and got hooked on smoking or other tobacco use. 

And he wants to do something to help keep today's Nebraska youth from having the problems that their relatives have had.

Gloor said that's why he has introduced LB436, which would increase the tax on a pack of cigarettes from 64 cents per pack to $1.99 per pack.

"One of things that we know is that if you increase the price of a pack of cigarettes, people will stop using tobacco," Gloor said.

A pack of cigarettes costs less than a movie ticket, Gloor said. That doesn't make sense. It ought to be easier for a teen to go to a movie than to buy a pack of cigarettes.

Swantek said that Nebraska should make changes to reduce tobacco use and help promote tobacco free kids. She suggested that Nebraska should have:

• a well-funded tobacco use program designed to help promote tobacco free kids and help adults quit smoking and other tobacco products;
  
• more expensive cigarettes and other tobacco products, so that teens will be less likely to start using tobacco products; and
  
• policies that promote smoke-free air, such as Nebraska's smoke-free worksites law.

"We can and will take a stand against tobacco companies," she said. "We can stop Big Tobacco from addicting another generation of Nebraska youth to a deadly product."

Knowing that more can be done to promote tobacco free kids in Nebraska can be inspiration for Nebraska youth to continue the fight for tobacco prevention in Nebraska, according to another rally speaker.

"We need to continue to take a stand like we're doing today, and get our word out, because tobacco is a leading cause of preventable death," said Briar Kinnan of Wilber. "I challenge each and every one of you to continue your work to fight this issue. If we don't  take action, just think, another generation will be addicted to these deadly products. Do it for your little brother or even your best friends."

Kick Butts Day is an annual day sponsored by the Campaign for Tobacco Free Kids to help promote tobacco free kids and tobacco prevention.

No Limits Nebraska is Nebraska's first youth-led and youth-driven tobacco prevention movement. By using activism, Nebraska teens are coming together to minimize the tobacco industry's influence in Nebraska.

Audio provided here highlights comments from Sen. Gloor, as well as rally presenters Swantek and Kinnan.

More than 440,000 Americans die each year as a result of using tobacco, according to a radio ad released this week by Howells Community Catholic Schools and Tobacco Free Colfax County.

Tobacco contains more than 4,000 harmful chemicals, according to the ad. Stopping smoking can help the person who smokes and others, as well, students who produced the ad share.  Secondhand smoke can cause cancer. 

The spot is one of four spots produced as a result of a contest by Tobacco Free Platte County and Tobacco Free Colfax County. The contest recognizes Kick Butts Day, a national day sponsored by the Campaign for Tobacco Free Kids. This is the 16th annual Kick Butts Day. The day is a national day designed to promote tobacco free kids.

The ads are being aired this week in the Columbus and Central City, Nebraska, areas.

Howells Community Catholic Schools and the Tobacco Free Colfax County coalition present a radio spot recorded to highlight the dangers of secondhand smoke.

This radio spot is one of four that are being aired this week in the Platte and Colfax county areas. It was chosen as a winner of contest to engage youth in reducing tobacco use run by Tobacco Free Platte County and Tobacco Free Colfax County to recognize Kick Butts Day.

Four radio spots were chosen as winners of the contest. In recognition of Kick Butts Day, one radio spot will be recognized at healtheducation.org each day this week.

Kick Butts Day, Wednesday, March 23, is a day of activism that empowers youth to take action against tobacco use at more than 2,000 events from coast to coast. Kick Butts Day was initiated in 1995 by the Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids. 

Kudos to the Hall County Board of Supervisors for recognizing Kick Butts Day in Grand Island and Hall County.

Kick Butts Day, Wednesday, March 23, is a day of activism that empowers youth to take action against tobacco use at more than 2,000 events from coast to coast. Kick Butts Day was initiated in 1995 by the Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids.  Tobacco Free Hall County is one of many groups participating in the day.

Columbus Christian Schools, St. Anthony’s in Columbus, and Howells Catholic Schools have taken the winning spots in a contest co-sponsored by Tobacco Free Platte County and Tobacco Free Colfax County to recognize Kick Butts Day.

Kick Butts Day, Wednesday, March 23, is a day of activism that empowers youth to take action against tobacco use at more than 2,000 events from coast to coast. Kick Butts Day was initiated in 1995 by the Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids. 

The contest to engage youth in reducing tobacco use was sponsored by Tobacco Free Platte County and Tobacco Free Colfax County, which serving the Nebraska counties that include Columbus and Schuyler.

Students in those counties were invited to create spots to be aired on the radio. The contest was open to all schools and all ages.

Columbus Christian Schools and St. Anthony’s in Platte County and Howells Catholic schools in Colfax County provided the winning entries. These commercials will air on Monday, March 21, through Sunday, March 27. The spots will run on KLIR and KZ-100. 

Four commercials were produced. Two of the commercials are from Platte County and two are from Colfax County. The commercials are scheduled to air between 7:30 a.m. to 8:30 a.m., 3:30 p.m. to 4:30 p.m., and 7 p.m. to 8:30 p.m. 

Tobacco Free Platte County and Tobacco Free Colfax County coalition members work together to prevent young people from starting tobacco use and to promote smoke-free environments in the area of Platte and Colfax counties, Nebraska.

High school students from Doniphan-Trumbull and Heartland Lutheran high schools will be passing out cessation materials including Quit Now cards. Hy-Vee in Grand Island is offering an in-store incentive to customers who throw away their tobacco products.

These activities are happening through a partnership for Kick Butts Day between Tobacco Free Hall County and Hy-Vee in Grand Island. The event will take place from 11:30 a.m. to 1 p.m. Wednesday, March 23, at the Grand Island Hy-Vee.

Kick Butts Day is a day of activism that empowers youth to take action against tobacco use at more than 2,000 events from coast to coast. Kick Butts Day was initiated in 1995 by the Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids. 

This year the Hall County-area youth will focus on educating customers about the hazardous effects of second- and third-hand smoke especially in multi-unit housing, where children have an increase exposure through common ventilation. This can lead to increasing experiences of upper respiratory infections, asthma and inner ear infections, as well as more missed school days.

In 2011, the Campaign for Tobacco Free Kids is considered one of the country’s largest nongovernmental initiatives, funded entirely without contributions from the government or tobacco industry. The Campaign’s mission is to make sure youth are not exposed to tobacco products, thus limiting deadly addiction.