2026 Message from the President and CEO
People for Nonsmokers’ Rights (ANR) is popping 50! On March 1, 1976, a small group of decided people gathered to debate a radical thought: creating areas the place individuals may breathe clear air. On the time, smoking was at an all time excessive; it was the norm to smoke–in all places. Film theatres have been stuffed with smoke. Workplace employees lit cigarettes at their desks. Eating places didn’t even have smoking sections—but—you can mild up as you have been consuming! Passengers on buses, trains, and airplanes anticipated their hair and garments to odor like smoke. There was little analysis on the well being results of cigarette smoking or the well being results of secondhand smoke on nonsmokers. These founders didn’t simply advocate for change—they created a blueprint for it.
All through 2026, we will probably be reflecting on accomplishments, challenges, and classes discovered. I hope you get pleasure from studying a few of our reminiscences, and that you simply contribute your tales, reminiscences, interactions with ANR—or our opponents—as nicely. This motion was constructed by a set of various people and companions, and each certainly one of us performed a important half.
Thanks for being a part of this extraordinary motion and contributing to the unimaginable accomplishments we’ve got made collectively. I stay up for listening to from you all year long about your experiences then, and the place we are able to assist your work now. The struggle isn’t over. There are nonetheless too many individuals uncovered to secondhand tobacco smoke and plenty of at the moment are additionally dealing with publicity to hashish and cigar smoke. The extra success we obtain, the tougher our opponents within the tobacco, cigar, hashish, and on line casino business push again. Learn on for extra data, and keep tuned for extra updates.
As at all times, I respect listening to from our members, donors, companions, funders, and mates, so please contact me when you have questions, ideas, or connections for us as we transfer ahead. We’re dedicated to persevering with our legacy of offering our experience together with our daring, cutting-edge advocacy.
Classes Realized
One key lesson from the final 50 years of ANR’s advocacy is that one particular person talking up, sharing their story concerning the challenges of working in a smoke-filled atmosphere, can and did make an enormous distinction. Sharing private tales with neighbors, co-workers, and household helped break the silence of different individuals who additionally disliked being uncovered to tobacco smoke. This was the start of a strong grassroots motion that was keen to problem the established order about when and the place individuals may smoke, together with taking over a strong business. It’s true that the ability of the individuals is stronger than the individuals in energy, though that’s typically tough to recollect, when Massive Tobacco and its allies are so well-connected and well-funded, and motivated to guard its earnings over the well being and well-being of individuals. We additionally discovered that, whereas the tobacco business had a substantial amount of affect on the federal and state degree, it had far much less in native municipalities, which led to a different key lesson—native leads the best way. This and plenty of different classes we discovered in our first 10 years have been compiled into the primary advocacy guidebook, Legislative Approaches to a Smoke Free Society. On this identical custom, we’re engaged on a brand new useful resource for public well being advocates— distilling our classes discovered and confirmed methods for advancing neighborhood well being, from smokefree insurance policies and throughout different necessary points.
Accomplishments
A lot has been achieved over the previous 50 years. A few of it has been sluggish and regular, significantly within the 1970’s and 1980’s when there wasn’t robust proof that secondhand smoke was greater than a nuisance to nonsmokers. In 1986 our means to advocate for what we knew intuitively was greatest for well being and security emerged – the primary Surgeons Common Report on the well being penalties of involuntary smoking (or secondhand smoke). The report made a robust assertion that “the straightforward separation of people who smoke from nonsmokers throughout the identical air house might scale back, however doesn’t eradicate, publicity of nonsmokers to environmental tobacco smoke (sometimes called ETS or secondhand smoke).” This emboldened ANR and the broader motion to maneuver away from No Smoking Sections and towards 100% smokefree environments. This led to a gold rush of smokefree restaurant legal guidelines and paved the best way for the smokefree home airways rule that was adopted 36 years in the past, on February 25, 1990. Flying on a smokefree airplane was the primary time many skilled what it was prefer to be in a totally smokefree atmosphere, and contributed to public assist for smokefree areas.
Diversifications and Improvements
ANR has constantly and successfully tailored to an ever-evolving atmosphere, as social norms and public expectations modified to anticipate and demand broader smokefree protections in all indoors areas, and because the business responded to our successes in altering these norms, behaviors, and increasing into areas some by no means thought potential. As an illustration, as extra eating places went smokefree, bar patrons, and extra importantly, employees questioned why they have been neglected of those life-saving insurance policies. On line casino employees emerged as one other class of employees that have been neglected of robust statewide smokefree office legal guidelines. Whereas CA was the primary state to incorporate gaming, which solely included card rooms and horse racing tracks in 1994, DE was the primary to incorporate casinos of their legal guidelines adopted in 2006. We have now at all times believed in “small however mighty” having seen how smaller cities or states have been typically the primary to undertake very robust, progressive legal guidelines, like DE being the primary to incorporate casinos.
ANR was the primary to not solely marketing campaign for clear indoor air legal guidelines, but in addition the primary to maintain observe of those progressive legal guidelines—first as an inventory on paper, after which in a database. We have been lucky to have a board member with programming experience who helped us develop a searchable legal guidelines database, which helped advocates inform others concerning the improvement of the legal guidelines and researchers doc the well being and financial impression. The U.S. Tobacco ControlLaws Database has served as a mannequin for different public well being legislation databases. Later, we created the primary database of Tobacco Business paperwork. We additionally created a Preemption Strike Power, which convened companions throughout the U.S. to debate challenges and strategize the right way to forestall and overturn preemption laws. We compiled tales from actual individuals, first in writing, then on video, which have been highly effective instruments to speak with residents, coverage makers, and media, and infrequently modified attitudes and shifted opinions to assist smokefree indoor air. Extra just lately, we established month-to-month ‘workplace hours’ for advocates and companions to debate the impression of marijuana legalization and sustaining smokefree indoor air.
All through its historical past, ANR has at all times prioritized the grassroots and continues to collaborate and strategize with these most impacted by unsafe, smoke-filled workplaces, like musicians, in addition to on line casino, cigar, and hashish retailer or lounge employees. The collaboration between the specialists at ANR and people on the bottom is a strong mixture that will get recognition and outcomes. Whereas we do our greatest to share our experience and put together others to acknowledge and expose business misinformation, lies, and “astroturf” teams, the enjoying area has modified.
The Smoking Business and its Allies
Massive Tobacco has morphed over time. Tobacco was simply cigarettes and snuff/smokeless tobacco, but it surely has expanded to incorporate new merchandise like e-cigarettes, heated nicotine merchandise, smokeless merchandise together with Zyn, and expanded into flavors, nicely past menthol. Some tobacco corporations have branched into the hashish market, significantly after marijuana proponents efficiently legalized marijuana in Colorado in 2012. Twenty 4 states have legalized grownup use marijuana, of which 23 have robust statewide smokefree legal guidelines. Proponents are making a full court docket press to rollback smokefree legal guidelines to make particular exemption for smoking in hashish lounges, and have succeeded in Colorado and California. Equally, cigar proponents are pushing for exemptions to permit cigar (and doubtlessly different) smoking in cigar lounges. All these efforts are designed to renormalize smoking of 1 product or one other, and to erode smokefree protections.
Alternatives and Threats:
We have now an actual alternative to deliver smokefree air to New Jersey’s on line casino employees regardless of the relentless pushback from the on line casino business. Along with ongoing legislative efforts, there may be additionally stress constructing by means of the courts. The United Auto Employees (UAW) and CEASE (On line casino Staff Towards Smoking Results) have sued the state, arguing that the on line casino exemption from the Clear Indoor Act is unconstitutional. New Jersey’s state structure particularly acknowledges a proper to security. ANR submitted an amicus transient in assist of this effort. Following a current appeals court docket determination, the case will now go earlier than the state Supreme Courtroom. First, nevertheless, it will likely be remanded again to the decrease court docket for a rare evidentiary listening to, which may result in professional testimony on the well being results of secondhand smoke in addition to a evaluation beneath oath of the on line casino business’s claims concerning the effectiveness of air flow and of the alleged damaging financial impression of going nonsmoking. 2026 marks the twentieth anniversary of the NJ Clear Indoor Act, a legislation that exempted the over 23,000 on line casino employees who’re STILL ready for the essential smokefree protections that everybody else within the state has had for a technology.
We have now extra alternatives to go native legal guidelines in Tennessee, the place Gallatin simply adopted a legislation, and others are ready within the wings. We’re seeing actual threats in a number of locations which can be contemplating or have adopted legal guidelines exempting cigar bars or hashish lounges. In 1994, Tennessee adopted a legislation that preempted native management of smokefree legal guidelines. Twenty eight years later, TN partially repealed preemption; this reinvigorated the smokefree motion in TN. Nashville, then neighboring Hendersonville, handed a legislation prohibiting smoking in venues open to these 21 and over.
Wanting ahead:
Change is a continuing—shifts in norms and preferences are to be anticipated, however recently ANR has seen critical shifts in opinions and a distancing from analysis and information concerning the hazards of secondhand smoke, whether or not it’s tobacco, cigar, hashish, or e-cigarette aerosol. We have now navigated shifts and challenges and are assured we are able to adapt to this new panorama. Nonetheless, with the lack of federal assets, analysis and direct monetary assist, we should depend on our mates, members, donors, and companions to maintain us and the motion in order that we are able to make progress.
We are able to do it! Over the past 50 years, atypical individuals have finished extraordinary issues – secretaries, legislation ebook editors, flight attendants, musicians, on line casino employees, and other people like you who care about your neighborhood and the well being and wellbeing of everybody.
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People for Nonsmokers’ Rights (ANR) , sister group to the ANR Basis, is a member-supported, non-profit advocacy group that has been working for 50 years to guard everybody’s proper to breathe unhazardous air in workplaces and public locations, from places of work and airplanes to eating places, bars, and casinos. ANR has constantly shined a lightweight on the tobacco business’s interference with sound and life-saving public well being measures and efficiently protected 61% of the inhabitants with native or statewide smokefree office, restaurant, and bar legal guidelines. ANR goals to shut gaps in smokefree protections for employees in all workplaces, together with bars, music venues, casinos, and lodges to create more healthy communities for all. For extra data, please go to and https://smokefreecasinos.org.
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