The number one advocacy priority in Tennessee is removing all weakening exemptions from the 2007 Non Smokers Protection Act.

Although there are several exemptions, the most troublesome one permits any establishment that admits only persons 21 and up to allow smoking. Local estimates suggest that about 10% of businesses across the state, primarily restaurants and bars, have applied this exemption. The 2006 Surgeon General's report made the health risks of exposure to secondhand smoke perfectly clear by stating that there is NO safe level of environmental tobacco smoke. The law must provide protection for every worker in every workplace in Tennessee. Our goal is to help the members of our legislature make this their priority by 2010.

The American Lung Association in Tennessee continues to advocate for an annual budget appropriation for tobacco prevention and cessation programs.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommends that TN spend $71 million annually to adequately provide effective and successful programs to prevent youth from starting to smoke and to assist current smokers to quit. Although well below the recommended level, state funds in the amount of $10 million were initially appropriated for prevention and cessation programs in 2007. Budget shortfalls in the 2008 budget reduced the allocation to $5 million, and the 2009 recession budget was stretched beyond its ability to fund any prevention and cessation programs. Our goal is to keep our legislators committed to these programs and to an appropriation of funding at whatever level is fiscally possible each year.

In 2008, the legislature enacted a law that directed the Tennessee Department of Health to develop a statewide plan to reduce the burden of asthma in Tennessee schools.

A recent opportunity for possible funding for the plan by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has resulted in the plan being revised to a fully comprehensive plan to reduce the burden of asthma in TN, not just in the schools. The plan has been approved by the Commissioner of the Department of Health and was submitted for funding in June 2009. The American Lung Association was an integral partner with the state in the development of the plan and will continue in that role for full implementation.