Nevada Tobacco Prevention Coalition and Nevada Clean Indoor Air Act Advocates Celebrate 10-Year Anniversary of NCIAA

Presentation at Governor's Mansion will highlight past and future of historic legislation

The Nevada Clean Indoor Air Act was passed by a majority of Nevada voters on November 7, 2006.  The passage of this measure provided for substantial changes to Nevada smoking laws and protects children and adults from secondhand smoke in most public places and indoor places of employment. The Act took effect on December 8, 2006. 

NTPC President Dr. John Packham notes that “the 10th Anniversary Celebration of the Nevada Clean Indoor Air Act provides an occasion to reflect on the impact of this landmark public health victory over the past decade.” He adds “the upcoming event also provides an opportunity for policymakers and the public to take stock of the unfinished business of tobacco prevention and control efforts in our state, since tobacco use and exposure to second-hand smoke remain the major cause of preventable disease and disability in Nevada.”  

 “It’s great that we can celebrate this occasion and many of the accomplishments we have achieved as a community in providing cleaner air for everyone over the last ten years, like Washoe County going to stricter smoking enforcement and eliminating e-cigarettes in all county-owned facilities, a tobacco free UNR campus, and increased access to smoke free housing,” said Washoe County District Board of Health Chairwoman, Kitty Jung. “But, we still have a long way to go as a community and as a state through tough policy and legislation to prevent tobacco exposure and the effects it has on our health.”

The U.S. Surgeon General has determined secondhand smoke to be a cause of cancer, heart, lung and other chronic diseases that can result in death and that there is no safe level of exposure to secondhand smoke.  The Nevada Clean Indoor Air Act prohibits smoking tobacco in most workplaces and all indoor public places and, since its enactment, countless Nevadans and visitors to Nevada have been protected from exposure to secondhand smoke, including over 1 million Nevadans who are currently protected in their place of employment.

Featured speakers at the 10^th anniversary event will include policymakers and advocates, past and present, who have been instrumental in advancing smoke-free and other tobacco prevention efforts in the Silver State.  The program will be followed by a hosted lunch at noon for registered attendees. Reno Councilman and Washoe County District Board of Health member Oscar Delgado is also expected to attend.

To register for this free event and luncheon, please contact Amber Greene at agreene@lungs.org or 702-948-4160.  Participation is limited to the first 150 registrants. The Nevada Governor’s Mansion is located at 606 Mountain Street, Carson City, NV 89703.

Media interested in attending should register and, for additional information, contact John Packham at 775-784-1235 (office), 775-232-3614 (mobile), or jpackham@med.unr.edu.

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1. Welcome and Introductions – John Packham, PhD, President, Nevada Tobacco Prevention Coalition
2. Background and History of the Nevada Clean Indoor Air Act – Michael Hackett, Alrus Consulting
3. Perspectives on the Public Health Impact of the Nevada Clean Indoor Air Act and Smoke-free Laws in Nevada

• Joseph Iser, MD, DrPH, MSc, District Health Officer, Southern Nevada Health District
• Kevin Dick, District Health Officer, Washoe County Health District
• John Dimuro, DO, MBA, Chief Medical Officer, Nevada Division of Public and Behavioral Health
• Laura Oslund, Executive Director, PACE Coalition, Partners Allied for Community Excellence
• Ben Schmauss, Government Relations Director, Nevada, American Heart Association
• Tom McCoy, JD, Nevada Government Relations Director, American Cancer Society Cancer Action Network
• JoAnna Strother, Regional Director of Public Policy, American Lung Association
• Cimberlyn Andrus, Silver Stage Stand Tall, Healthy Communities Coalition

     4. Concluding Remarks and Call to Action: The Unfinished Business of Tobacco Prevention and Control in Nevada – John Packham