May 12, 2009
National Experts to Offer Advice on Implementing State’s Smokefree Law
National experts on clean indoor air laws will be in Great Falls Wednesday, May 13, and Thursday, May 14, to help organize statewide support and planning for implementing the second phase of the 2005 Montana Clean Indoor Air Act.
The experts will speak at the annual statewide conference, sponsored by the Montana Tobacco Use Prevention Program, at the Great Falls’ Hilton Garden Inn, beginning at 8:30 a.m.
The conference, entitled “Clearing the Air: Preparing for a Smokefree Montana,” is tailored to provide voices of experience to state and local officials responsible for fully implementing the law.
On October 1, 2009, all public indoor places and workplaces will be required to be smokefree. For the last four years, Montana bars, taverns and casinos have continued to permit indoor smoking under exceptions to the law. Those exceptions terminate September 30.
“We know from our surveys that at least 80 percent of Montanans support making these establishments smokefree,” says Linda Lee, section supervisor for the Montana Tobacco Use Prevention Program. “That support will translate into high compliance statewide.”
Annie Tegen, senior program manager for Americans for Nonsmokers’ Rights, will kick off the day, providing an update on how smokefree laws are being implemented across the country.
Other featured conference speakers on May 13 include the following:
- Jill Thompson, 9 a.m., will relate lessons she learned working “on-the-ground” as Oregon set forth a smokefree law earlier this year. Thompson is policy manager for the Oregon Tobacco Prevention and Education Program.
- Michael Freiberg, 10:15 a.m., will discuss the legal implications of compliance and enforcement as they pertain to state and local officials. Freiberg is an attorney with the Tobacco Control Legal Consortium who worked extensively on Minnesota’s Clean Indoor Air Act.
- Andy Huff, 10:45 a.m., an attorney with the Montana Office of Indian Affairs, will expand Freiberg’s discussion, to offer perspectives on working with Montana American Indian populations and tribal governments.
- Ken Dahlgren, 12:30 p.m., will lead a discussion on how youth created public knowledge of, and rallied support for, New York’s clean indoor air law and how to make it happen in Montana. Dahlgren is the program manager for the College Action Project Against Tobacco for New York State.
- Nathan Moose, 1:30 p.m., will introduce “Nathan’s Story,” a video describing the health problems he sustained working in smoke-filled casinos and how he came to support smokefree American Indian casinos. Moose is an enrolled member of the Oglala Sioux tribe and advocate of smokefree gaming.
- Patricia Nez Henderson, M.D., 2 p.m., will address how smokefree policy can be promoted on Montana’s American Indian reservations when the Clean Indoor Air Act is fully implemented. Henderson is a leader in the Navajo Nation’s smokefree efforts, member of the Dine’ (Navajo) tribe and vice president of the Black Hills Center for American Indian Health.
- René Hicks, 4 p.m., will add some comic relief. Hicks is a nonsmoker, comedy club veteran and nationally and internationally renowned comedian who developed lung cancer as a result of her exposure to secondhand smoke while working in smoking comedy clubs.
Conference organizers expect 100 local tobacco prevention specialists, lead public health officials and coalition members to attend, from 45 counties and all seven American Indian reservations.
The second day of the conference, Thursday, May 14, will focus on planning for local implementation and CIAA celebrations that will span the entire state. Events will take place throughout the summer, with implementation celebrations as a finale in September.
The conference is open to the public, but pre-registration is required. For more information and a complete agenda, please visit http://www.umt.edu/ce/cps/MTUPP_Annual_Conference.htm.
The Montana Tobacco Use Prevention Program for DPHHS works to address the public health crisis caused by the use of all forms of commercial tobacco products and to eliminate tobacco use, especially among young people, via programs and policies throughout Montana.
Page last updated: 05/13/2009
