My Day at the Capital

Things I learned from my day at the capital

Not being much of a politician but being passionate about the safety of my children I headed out to OKC for lobby day at the capital today. I was joined there by many other volunteers from the American Cancer Society, American Lung Association, people from other health organizations, a bar owner and lots of just regular people like me who have been affected by second hand smoke or who have lost a loved one to cancers or heart disease brought on by smoking or breathing second hand smoke.

We spoke with a lot of Senators. A lot of the senators of course, are planning on voting for the bill ( SB1875) Thank you , Thank you , Thank you!

We also spoke with some senators who are planning on voting against this bill ( at this time ). What I found interesting was hearing from the ones who do not ( at this time ) support the bill it wasn’t because of the health issue. They all agreed that it was dangerous to be alive in that environment. Some had even lost loved ones themselves to cancer caused by smoking. These same senators stated as their reason for not supporting the bill was that they were concerned about the 2% of restaurants who put in smoking rooms costing on average $5000-$10,000. Apparently some of these senators felt that they had promised these restaurant owners that there would never be any law written that would get rid of smoking in all public establishments and somehow think they are honor bound to vote against this bill even given NEW INFORMATION that
1. The American Society of Heating , Refrigeration and Air Conditioning Engineers ( ASHRAE ) the international body that sets the standards for indoor air quality, stated that ventilation “CANNOT ELIMINATE THE HEALTH DANGERS ASSOCIATED WITH SECONDHAND SMOKE” which means that even though those restaurants put in smoking rooms with ventilation, the ventilation will do no good to remove the dangerous chemicals that smokers will be exposed to nor will it protect those in the room next door as wait staff and patrons move between rooms.
2. Now that other states ( and entire countries ) have gone smoke free there is more information that addresses worries that business will suffer if smoke free is enforced. There have been NO studies that show this, instead there have been reports that business actually increased after smoke free laws were enacted. In NYC alone business increased by 8.7%. hmmmm at an 8.7% increase in profits how long would it take to recoup that $5,000 ventilation system?
3. Since we enacted smoke free restaurants or restaurants with separate smoking rooms we have also gotten new information from the surgeon general came out with their report on the dangers of being exposed to 2nd hand smoke. Here are some of the chemicals found in 2nd hand smoke and the cancers they cause:

Arsenic, benzo (a) pyrene, dadmium, nickel and NNK : lung cancer
Nitrosamines : cancer of lung, respiratory system and other organs
Aromatic amines: bladder and breast cancers
Formaldehyde and nickel: nasal cancer
Benzene: leukemia
Vinyl chloride: liver and brain cancer
2-napthalymine and 4 aminobiphenyl: bladder cancer
lead: liver cancer

OK so that is the newer information not that we really needed any of that to know that breathing 2nd hand smoke is dangerous and exposing any worker against his will to a dangerous substance is just plain wrong. So dear senators you may salvage your reputation given that when anyone recieves new information they are allowed a free pass to change their minds with no shame, no harm, no foul. There is no shame in changing your mind when given new information. The shame would be for you to exchange your perception about your reputation for our health.

I got up real early this morning and have probably had way too much coffee so I will get down off my soap box now and hope and pray that our senators do the right thing and that you all will keep writing and calling them so that they know that you care.

Just Rcvd this morning

Dear Advocates:

Good Morning!

Here is the latest news out of the Oklahoma State Capitol this morning. Senator Bass' bill that would prohibit the scanning of driver's licenses has passed the Senate and is now going to the House.

See the story below for more details. If you have any questions about this bill or other questions, please don't hesitate to email or call me.

Many of you are probably wondering what is happening with SB1875/Smoke-free Oklahoma Act. We are waiting to hear about SB 1875/Smoke-free Oklahoma Act and whether it will be heard on the Senate floor. I will keep everyone informed as I find out more information.

Thanks for all that you do!
pw

Sen. Bass Passes Privacy Bill in Senate


Detailed information contained on digital driver licenses is supposed to be used for public safety purposes—but right now, there is no law protecting individuals from having that information used for other purposes, including identity theft.

State Sen. Randy Bass, who previously championed Oklahoma’s landmark identity theft legislation allowing Oklahomans to freeze their credit free of charge, has won approval for legislation to further protect the identity of Oklahomans through legislation aimed at stopping the practice of electronically swiping driver licenses and capturing the data to use for marketing purposes. The Senate voted unanimously to approve Senate Bill 1745 on Tuesday.

“Identity theft is one of the fastest growing crimes in this country, and new technology keeps making it easier for criminals to steal your personal information,” sad Bass, D-Lawton. “Someone can ask to see your driver license as proof of age, and before you realize it, they’ve scanned all of your information with a small, portable device.”

Bass said that often occurs in bars, when representatives of tobacco companies offer free samples, but ask to see the person’s driver license first. The information is then scanned and used in direct marketing.

“I think this practice just demonstrates how easy it is to scan someone’s license without their knowledge and use that information for identity theft,” Bass said. “My legislation would make it a misdemeanor to scan a license and to sell or store the data collected.”

(more)

SB 1745’s supporters include the American Cancer Society, American Heart Association, American Lung Association, Oklahoma State Medical Association, Oklahoma Hospital Association, Oklahoma Institute for Child Advocacy, Oklahoma Parent Teacher Association, AARP and others.

The measure now moves to the House for further consideration.



Paula James Warlick
American Cancer Society
Grassroots Manager - Oklahoma
(918) 477. 5410 or (888) 376.1725
email: paula.warlick@cancer.org

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