Major tobacco lobby policy issues and tactical approaches for US state legislatures
| Policy issue | Tobacco lobby position on policy issue | Public health advocacy positions | Tobacco industry's general tactical approaches |
| Clean indoor air | Oppose or weaken all clean indoor air restrictions | Promote smoke free workplaces and public places to promote public health | Oppose or weaken state clean indoor air laws. Pre-emption of stricter local laws.1-150 Promote voluntary areas of “accommodation” for smokers and non-smokers. Form alliances with and, if necessary, create covert “hospitality” front groups to oppose clean indoor air legislation |
| Smokers' rights | Make it illegal for employers to take smoking status into account in hiring, firing, and promotion decisions | Prevent enactment of tobacco industry smokers' rights legislation to protect public health | Frame smoking as a civil right. Enlist support of groups like ACLU, women, and minority community groups |
| Tobacco excise taxes | Oppose all tobacco excise tax increases | Seek increases in excise taxes, sometimes with a portion allocated to tobacco control to promote public health | Oppose all taxation legislation. Pre-empt local authority to tax tobacco. Work with and fund anti-tax groups |
| ASSIST (a federally funded anti-tobacco educational effort) | Support stringent restrictions on ASSIST to make it more difficult to use the policy making process to promote public health | Support state ASSIST programme efforts to promote public health | Promote legislative attacks on ASSIST for “illegal” lobbying |
| Product liability reform | Restrict litigation costs and monetary damage awards in product liability cases | Protect status quo or enact legislation that facilitates litigation against the tobacco industry to promote consumer protection and public health | Create and finance product liability reform coalitions, often with medical groups (concerned about malpractice) and other business groups |
| Tort reform | Restrict litigation costs and monetary damage awards in tort cases | Protect status quo or enact legislation that facilitates litigation against the tobacco industry to promote consumer protection and public health | Create and finance tort reform coalitions, often with medical groups (concerned about malpractice) and other business groups |
| Tobacco marketing and promotion | Avoid all restrictions on tobacco industry marketing and promotion | Restrict location and nature of tobacco industry marketing and promotion to promote public health | Pre-emption of stricter local laws. Oppose or weaken all state marketing legislation |
| Sales to minors (including federal Synar Amendment youth access law enforcement efforts) | Oppose meaningful restrictions and penalties on retailers. Support minimum age restrictions on sales to minors, but without meaningful enforcement | Penalties on retailers for sales to minors, licensing retailers, enforcement through “stings” done by children to promote public health | Pre-emption of stricter local laws. Outlaw “stings”. Support state legislation that makes it more difficult to meet goals set in Synar Amendment |
| Sales restrictions on vending machines | Oppose restrictions on vending machines and tobacco sign placement in outlets | Eliminate vending machines or restrict locations to “adults only” venues to promote public health | Pre-emption of stricter local laws. When legislation is inevitable, support ineffective measures such as electronic locks on vending machines |
| Tobacco packaging and solid waste | Oppose all tobacco solid waste taxes and other restrictions | No active position to promote public health and environmental protection | Oppose or weaken all new state solid waste tax or recycling legislation. Support and bolster current recycling programmes without new legislation |
| Fire safe cigarettes | Oppose application of fire safe standards to tobacco products | Seek fire safe standards for tobacco products to promote consumer protection | Oppose all fire safe cigarette legislation. Alliances with (and funding of) fire safety organisations. Agree to studies to delay, if meaningful legislation appears immanent |
| Initiatives and referenda | Eliminate or make it more difficult for citizens to mount initiative and referendum campaigns | No active position to promote public health and greater direct democracy | Sponsor legislation restricting ability to qualify initiatives and referenda on the ballot |
| Death certificates | Oppose listing tobacco as cause of death on death certificates | Support listing tobacco as a cause of death on death certificates to promote public health | Oppose all legislation that requires tobacco to be listed as cause of death on death certificates |
↵1-150 Occasionally public health advocates have supported pre-emption in the belief that some progress at the state level was worth accepting pre-emption.8 15 101 This compromise rarely advanced public health in the long run.