Could You Please Pass the Regulation?

General Description of Activity:

Helping pass a new or tougher smoke-free regulation is an important way to protect your entire community from the dangers of secondhand smoke. Secondhand smoke kills at least 300 West Virginians each year. No Smoking regulations passed by local health departments protect everyone.

First, find out what regulation exists in your county from the local health department. If you have a strong one (smoke-free restaurants at a minimum), great! If your county’s regulation allows smoking in restaurants or there is no regulation, it’s time to get busy.

Next, find out who’s working for clean air. The local chapter of the American Heart Association, American Cancer Society, and American Lung Association are good bets. Check to see if a local community coalition is working on the issue.

If no one is taking on the fight, educate yourself about the issue (www.no-smoke.org is a good site for background) and try one or more of the following:

Collect names on a petition and submit it to the local health department
Write letters or meet with local officials to discuss your issue
Get statements of support from influential people and organizations
Hand out flyers to educate people in the community about the hazards of secondhand smoke
Organize a pro-clean air rally
Hold a press conference
Write a letter to the editor of the local newspaper

Make sure you can back up your pro-clean air argument with the facts, and know what the other side's arguments are going to be so you can create a counterpoint. Make sure any event has plenty of people showing their support. Numbers show popular support.

Best Place to Perform Commotion

Public places are where you can educate or influence a large number of people for rallies or press conferences; any public event should be well-attended and include plans for media coverage.

Estimated Number of Teens Needed

Two or more