e-mail: · 8117 W Manchester Ave Suite 500 · Playa del Rey CA 90293
Tel. (310) 577-9828
Contact: Patrick Reynolds, President, Tobaccofree.Org
Cell phone: (310) 880-1111
Press events in four Florida cities, October 30 – November 1, in support of Amendment 6
Tour kickoff: Wednesday, 11am, October 30, Miami
SMOKING BAN NOT FROM THIS GOVERNOR OR THIS LEGISLATURE, SAYS RJ REYNOLDS’ GRANDSON
TOBACCOFREE ADVOCATE TOURS FLORIDA TO ADVOCATE 100% STATEWIDE SMOKING BAN
“Amendment 6 did not come from the present Governor, or the present legislature in Tallahassee. It only got on the ballot because of a citizen-led petition, backed by the American Cancer Society and other groups. Would Governor Bush or the Republican legislature have passed a Statewide smoking ban? They have ignored past proposals, and even cut back Florida’s successful tobacco education program. The fact is, the biggest donor to the Republican Party in this election is Phillip Morris, and they’re too smart to give millions of dollars away for no reason.”
WHO: Patrick Reynolds, an opponent of the tobacco industry and a grandson of tobacco company founder RJ Reynolds. An advocate for regulating Big Tobacco since 1986, and for campaign finance reform, Mr. Reynolds is now considering running for office as a Democrat from Florida, where he grew up. On October 29, he campaigned in four Michigan cities, championing Proposal 4, which would set aside a portion of Michigan’s tobacco settlement funds for health, including tobacco education. Michigan has set no settlement funds aside for this previously.
Reynolds began his campaign after his father, R.J. Reynolds, Jr., died in 1964 from emphysema, caused by smoking the family’s brands. His eldest brother, R.J. Reynolds III, also died from emphysema caused by smoking, in 1994. He was born in Miami Beach, and lived there until college, when he moved to Los Angeles. Mr. Reynolds is President of Tobaccofree.org, and is a frequent speaker at colleges, high schools, and middle schools. Full bio: https://tobaccofree.org/bio/
WHAT: Four city tour of Florida, to advocate Amendment 6 as a private citizen. Immediately following the kickoff press event, Mr. Reynolds will give a lecture at Miami Dade Community College. At the 11am event, his remarks will include the quotes below, in addition to the one at top. To assist in fact checking, contacts, links to reports and news articles, are listed below.
MORE OF PATRICK REYNOLDS’ REMARKS
“Banning smoking 100% from most workplaces is an idea whose time has come. 1522 US cities now have laws regulating tobacco. That number would be much higher, except for the fact that many State legislatures, lobbied heavily by the tobacco industry, have passed watered-down Statewide smoking laws. Many of these contain a clause preempting cities from passing their own 100% bans at the local level. Florida was the first State to pass pre-emption, in 1985-86. One of the most important battles before us now is to repeal preemption in the legislatures which have passed it — and definitely, to place more citizens’ initiatives on the ballot in other States, which also have unresponsive elected officials. Gasp of Florida and others have tried to get such a law passed for years, without success.”
“California passed the first 100% Statewide smoking ban in 1994. It bans smoking 100% from restaurants, and starting in 1998, from free-standing bars and nightclubs as well. Initially
California’s smoking ban was controversial, but today it’s widely accepted, and is in fact one of the most popular laws in the State.
“In June, Delaware’s legislature also passed a 100% Statewide smoking ban, which will go into effect November 27th. Florida would become the third State to have a 100% Statewide smoking ban.
“The tobacco industry, with its campaign contributions and well connected lobbyists, has been far too influential over those presently in power in Tallahassee. If Amendment 6 fails, Big Tobacco wins.”
Related research for fact checking:
Tobacco Industry Political Power and Influence in Florida From 1979 to 1999 – Executive Summary
https://www.library.ucsf.edu/
“Acclaimed Florida Anti-Tobacco Ad Campaign Slashed” — A footnoted report from Tobacco Control Update magazine, Northeastern University, Boston
’Truth’ Ads Suffer from Budget Cuts – Jacksonville Times Union, Dec 30, 2001
http://www.jacksonville.com/tu-online/stories/123001/met_8213790.html
Anti-Smoking Campaign Shows Dramatic Results – Washington Post, March 1, 2000
http://www.gaspforair.org/gasp/
Philip Morris is the leading campaign contributor to Republicans in federal elections during the 2001-02 election cycle, giving $2,666,163 (as of October 2), according to a new report by the Center for Responsive Politics. Philip Morris also gave $537,638 to Democrats during the 2001-02 cycle. http://www.opensecrets.org/pubs/toporgs/appendix.asp
(See No. 5 on this page.)
Philip Morris has also been the leading overall campaign contributor to Republicans in federal elections since 1989, giving $14,300,228. Political giving by Phillip Morris since 1990:
http://www.opensecrets.org/orgs/list.asp?Order=A&View=P
http://www.opensecrets.org/orgs/summary.asp?ID=D000000067&Name=Philip+Morris
An October, 2002 report released by the Campaign for Tobacco Free Kids and Common Cause reveals that the tobacco industry has so far contributed more than $7.3 million in soft money and political action committee contributions to federal candidates, political parties and political committees during the 2001-02 election cycle
https://www.tobaccofreekids.org/
http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&u=/021022/180/2hv24.html
Campaign contribution data for each federal candidate is available at: http://www.opensecrets.org/
Past press releases from Patrick Reynolds’ group https://tobaccofree.org/news/
CONTACTS reccomended for fact checking, statistics and research:
Tim Filler, Americans for NonSmokers’ Rights
Office: (510)841-3032
Elizabeth Lancet, Statistics officer, American Lung Association, National Headquarters, NYC (212)315-8826
Ms. Lancet can provide studies which back up statistics.
TOUR SCHEDULE
WHERE AND WHEN
October 29th
— Campaigning all day in Michigan, for Proposal 4 Contact in Michigan: Roger Martin (517)487-9320.
PRESS EVENT LOCATIONS
October 30, 2002
South Miami
11am — Florida tour kickoff Press event in front of College Park Inn Restaurant (bar allows smoking)
10575 SW 109th Court, South Miami FL 33176, Tel (305)595-6518
12pm Lecture, across street at Miami Dade Community College, Kendall Campus McCarthy Theatre, Room 6120
October 31st, 2002
Orlando
9:00am Press Event
Outside, on the plaza of City Hall
400 South Orange Ave, Orlando FL 32801
Tallahassee
2pm Press Event
Near City Hall, located at 300
South Adams, Tallahassee FL 32301
Press event will be in front of City Hall, at the corner of Adams and Jefferson
(across from Andrew’s Restaurant)
Depart Tallahassee 4:43pm Airtran
1259, Arr Tampa 5:35pm
November 1, Friday
Tampa 10am Press Event
Tahitian Inn Coffee Shop, located at 601 Dale Mabry Avenue, Tampa, 33609. They will be 100% smokefree; management is sympathetic to Amendment 6.
