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Affecting Policy Change on a City Level

Affecting Policy Change on a City Level. Kenny Kwong, CSW Health Education Special Projects Manger Charles B. Wang Community Health Center 10 th Anniversary APPEAL National Leadership Summit/Conference September 9-10, 2004 Washington DC. Affecting Policy Change on a City Level.

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Affecting Policy Change on a City Level

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  1. Affecting Policy Change on a City Level Kenny Kwong, CSW Health Education Special Projects Manger Charles B. Wang Community Health Center 10th Anniversary APPEAL National Leadership Summit/Conference September 9-10, 2004 Washington DC

  2. Affecting Policy Change on a City Level • NYC Smoke Free Air Act 2002 - success, celebrations, and challenges • What did NYC Coalition For a Smoke-Free City do? • What did NY’s AAPI Tobacco Control Network do? • The Garbage Can Model • My Reflection

  3. NYC Smoke Free Air Act of 2002 Smoke-Free Successes, Celebrations and Challenges New York’s Asian American & Pacific Islander Tobacco Control Network

  4. Why The Law is Needed • Tobacco use is the leading epidemic of our time • More than 440,000 Americans die every year from tobacco use • Each year in NYC, we lose 8,600 friends, neighbors and family members to diseases caused by smoking… they die from lung cancer..heart disease…and more • 400 New Yorkers, who never smoked, die each year from exposure to the tobacco smoke of others

  5. Secondhand Smoke and HealthThe Real Facts: • The EPA , the Surgeon General and the CDC agree: Secondhand smoke is a Class A carcinogen – not safe at any level – like radon, asbestos and benzene • Each year 60,000 non-smokers in the US die from breathing the smoke from other people’s cigarettes • 1,000 of the victims are from our neighborhoods • Secondhand smoke causes heart disease, asthma attacks, sinusand bronchial irritations, especially in children and seniors.

  6. Secondhand Smoke • It causes cancer…heart disease…lung disease and death • 1 in 4 NYC smokers is forced to breathe this poison on the job • Don’t all workers deserve equal protections? • It’s About Our Rights to Breathe Clean Air!

  7. Intent of the Law • An amendment to the 1995 NYC Smoke Free Air Act • Protect ALL New York City workers from on-the-job exposure to secondhand smoke - Secondhand smoke is a known carcinogen, not safe at any level - All workers deserve a safe, clean, smoke-free workplace

  8. Who Will be Smoke-Free? • All food service establishments, restaurants and catering halls • All bars, including bars in restaurants • Membership Associations • All areas of theaters • Banks, educational and health care facilities, and child day care centers • Shopping malls and retail stores • All offices • Sports Arenas, roller & ice rinks, billiard parlors, bingo halls, bowling alleys and similar places of recreation • Public transportation facilities, reception areas and waiting rooms

  9. Goal: to Support Strong, On-going Efforts in Community Tobacco Control with: • The real facts on secondhand smoke • How Smoke-Free Workplace laws are enacted • Tobacco Industry opposition to Smoke-Free Workplaces • Tools to win-back Smoke-free Communities

  10. Who’s At Greatest Risk? • More than 1million NYC workers like bartenders, wait-staff… whose jobs expose them to hours of secondhand smoke • 1 working shift can = smoking ½ pack of cigarettes • Studies show that bartenders and waitresses have a 50% greater chance of getting lung cancer than other workers • NO ONE SHOULD HAVE TO BREATHE A KNOWN CARCINOGEN IN ORDER TO KEEP A JOB!

  11. The Mayor’s Proposalto Protect ALL Workers According to Intro 256 Smoke Free Workplace Act of 2002 Smoking will not be permitted in: • Restaurants – indoors, outdoors & bars within • All bars & taverns • Offices • Lobbies • Sports Arenas Places Smoking Permitted: • In your car • In your home • Many outdoor areas

  12. On August 12, 2002, Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg Announced NYC’s intention to go Smoke-Free! ‘Sponsors’ sought Proposal given to City Council Health Committee Health and community advocates meet with Health Committee to educate them on the bill’s health benefits The Health Committee holds public hearings on the proposed legislation Health advocates, workers and the community have a chance to testify The tobacco industry front groups will also testify Following public hearings, meetings with health advocates and messages from constituents, the HealthCommittee votes on the bill Then, City Council’s 51 members must vote on the bill…26 votes in favor are needed to win. How NYC Gets Smoke-Free Workplaces The Political Process:

  13. The Tobacco Industry Fire Storm: How Big tobacco responds to the threat of new tobacco control legislation • Media – The tobacco industry will use the media to combat new tobacco control legislation • Community Groups – The tobacco companies try to buy community support through sponsorships, incentives and payouts • Lobbying - The tobacco companies will use ‘front groups’ to lobby for support – i.e. bodega owners. They will contend that tobacco legislation hurts businesses in poorer communities • High Profile Spokespersons - The tobacco industry will look for high profile spokespersons to counter tobacco control legislation • FOIL – The tobacco companies will look for legal loopholes to sue organizations that work to enact tobacco control legislation • Studies – The tobacco companies pay medical and health experts to produce documentation that refutes tobacco use as a health risk

  14. Industry Myths: It’s a personal choice issue Restaurants and bars will lose business, people will lose jobs Restaurant and Bar workers can choose to work elsewhere State of the art ventilation systems can effectively eliminate secondhand smoke Myth Busters: It’s a health issue… personal choice ends when it harms others Sales receipts from smoke-free communities show no harm to businesses The flexible hours in the hospitality industry are the only jobs suitable for many workers There is no know ventilation system that can protect workers Clean Indoor Air Myths & Myth Busters

  15. “The do-gooders are winning out… people who have never had a fun time are trying to take all the fun out of life” – Newsday 8/16 “Government regulations – and lawsuits – are taking away everyone’s freedom –NY Post 8/16 “What’s next… fast food?” “People just like a smoke with their drink” – Newsday 8/16 “…the anti-smoking agenda seems to be driven by zealots.” - Staten IslandAdvance 8/18 Opponents Say…

  16. “The City Council should rapidly enact Mayor Michael Bloomberg’s plan to outlaw smoking in all the city’s workplaces on two simple grounds: Secondhand smoke is a threat to people who don’s smoke, and outlawing smoking has no adverse economic effect.” CRAIN’S NEW YORK BUSINESS 8/26-9/1 “A Complete ban on smoking in restaurants and bars has proved not just practical, but also good for business.” Jane Brody, THE NEW YORK TIMES 8/27 “Ban Smoking in City Bars? Yes, for Health’s Sake” THE NEW YORK TIMES Editorial 8/12 “… there is no denying that in saying that non-smoking bar and restaurant employees should be protected from secondhand smoke, the administration is on solid ground.” STATEN ISLAND ADVANCE 8/18 “Secondhand smoke is harmful… and the proposition that the ever-shrinking minority has a “right to inflict it on bartenders and other employees – or other patrons – is increasingly difficult to defend.” CHICAGO TRIBUNE 8/29 Major Newspapers Say…

  17. GET THE WORD OUT! • Organize & educate the community • Help us find people to testify at hearings • Place articles in community newsletters • Help educate policy makers on the hazards of secondhand smoke • Distribute our flyers (Training & materials provided as needed)

  18. What Does NY’s AAPI Tobacco Control Network Do • Attended the Mayor’s Press Conference • Mobilized the Asian communities to attend City Council hearings to monitor the passage of the law and show supports in the new legislations • Published news articles in ethnic-specific media to increase community awareness • Published a letter to editor at New York Times

  19. What Does NY’s AAPI Tobacco Control Network Do • Translated and distributed a fact sheet specifically developed for Asian American Restaurant/Bar Owners and Employees • Translated an information booklet for the NYC Department of Health on the NYC Smoke-Free Air Act 2002 • Conducted educational sessions to inform community members on the regulations of the Smoke-Free Air Act • Co-sponsored panel discussions on the implementation of the Smoke-Free Air Act targeting business and restaurant owners in the Chinese and Korean communities

  20. Sign Advocacy Petitions Sign postcards and mail them to City Council Call or visit your elected official - Tell them 73% of New Yorkers want smoke-free workplaces (a recent poll of 1,000 New Yorkers – ½ with a smoking history & ½ non-smokers, showed that 73% supported smoke-free workplaces - Tell them 76% of NY State restaurant owners want smoke free restaurants (from a NY State Restaurant Assoc. survey) And most importantly, tell them that YOU want smoke-free workplaces, too! TAKE ACTION

  21. Key Forces • A Supportive Mayor and Health Commissioner • Championship of City Council Health Chair, Christine Quinn • Voices of diverse Communities • Voices of Workers

  22. Current Public Acceptance & Compliance SFFAA Attitudes and Compliance Intercepts May 1st – May 20th 2003 • Polls show public in favor of law 2-1 • Compliance rates are high Are you in favor of this new law that prohibits smoking in all workplaces? Yes = 65% No = 21% Don’t care/ no response = 14%

  23. Current Challenges • Media - Doom and Gloom reporting • Opposition tactics – Doom and Gloom messaging “Cig Ban leaves lots of empties – Deserted city bars fall on hard times as biz drops off”– NY Post 5/12/03 “Cig ban killed him – Bouncer knifed as he boots smoker” – NY Post 4/14/03 “Smoking Ban Clogs New York City Sidewalks” – NY Newsday 5/03 “Let's call Bloomberg's plot what it really is - The SMOKER-Free City Act.”– Audrey Silk 8/26/02

  24. Now that New York is smoke-free, going out on the town is more enjoyable than ever. And Most New Yorkers agree: * Nearly three out of Four support the City’s smoke-free law* * Almost 90% say they would go out as much or more often in a smoke-free City Not only does the new law make nightlife more appealing; it has the added benefit of protecting the health of all New Yorkers, especially our workers. Thank you for your leadership in this area. Name _________ Borough _____________ For more information contact the NYC Coalition for a Smoke-Free City www.nycsmokefree.org Place Stamp Here What We must Continue to Do • “I love Smoke-Free NY!” Campaign • Letters to the Editor • Postcards • Produce and Publish Real Data

  25. Where We Go from Here Continued Support of Smoke-Free Legislation New Challenges - Contraband cigarette sales to minors - Smoke Free Homes - Cessation

  26. Historic Timeline August 12th – Mayor Proposes sweeping smoke-free legislation. December 18th – City Council votes in favor of slightly amended bill, 44-7. December 30th – Mayor Bloomberg signs the Smoke-Free Air Act of 2002. March 26th - State passes new sweeping statewide smoke-free legislation. March 30th – City SFAA enacted. July 24th – State law goes into effect. Mayor Michael Bloomberg

  27. Affecting Policy Change - What Model to Use Comprehensive Rational Decision Making Model • Define goals clearly • Set the levels of achievement of these goals • Select many alternatives that might achieve these goals • Compare alternatives systematically • Assess costs and benefits of each alternative • Choose the alternatives to achieve the goals at the least cost Does this ideal model accurately describe reality?

  28. Affecting Policy Change - What Model to Use The Garbage Can Model Adapted from Cohen, March, and Olsen (1972) A garbage can model of organizational choice. Administrative Science Quarterly,17, 1-25.

  29. The Garbage Can Model Organizations or Decision Structures • Problems • Solutions • Participants • Choice Opportunities

  30. The Garbage Can Model There is a kind of organization that… “is a collection of choices looking for problems, issues and feelings looking for decision situations in which they might be aired, solutions looking for issues to which they might be the answer, and decision makers looking for work” Cohen, March, and Olsen (1972) A garbage can model of organizational choice. Administrative Science Quarterly,17, 1-25.

  31. The Garbage Can Model The choice opportunity is thus a garbage can in which various kinds of problems and solutions are dumped by participants as they are generated. Mix of garbage in a particular can depends on • The mix of other cans around • Labels attached to the alternative cans • What garbage is currently being produced • How soon garbage is being collected or removed from the scene

  32. The Garbage Can Model • The flow of fairly separate streams of problems, solutions, interaction among participants & available choices • Outcomes heavily depends on the coupling of the streams such as coupling of solutions to problems etc. • The change process is not necessarily incremental

  33. A Revised Garbage Can Model Federal government agenda settings: • Problems - recognition, attention • Policies and Proposals - Bureaucrats, planning staff, academics, interest groups, researchers • Politics– national mood, public opinion, election results, changes of administration, lobbyists • John Kingdon (1984). Agendas, Alternatives, and Public Policies. Harper Collins Publishers

  34. A Revised Garbage Can Model • Three streams of processes (problems, policies, and politics) develop and operate largely independently of one another, however, not absolutely independent • Each of the actors and processes operate either as an impetus or as constraints • The key to understanding agenda and policy change is the coupling of these independent streams • “Policy window” - the conditions to push a given subject higher on the policy agenda are right – is open for a short while, and then it closes John Kingdon (1984). Agendas, Alternatives, and Public Policies. Harper Collins Publishers

  35. What do We Learn • Facilitate the three streams of processes – arousing attention on problems, working closely with policy makers, and dealing with politics • Manage the agenda setting process • Assess impetus and constraints • Build alliance and collaborate with partners • Seize the policy window once it opens • Be consistent and persistent, never give up

  36. Thank You!! New York’s Asian American & Pacific Islander Tobacco Control Network Hundreds of community-based organizations and advocacy groups

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