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ASH Helps Create New
Paradigm in Calabasas - See The Testimony
[02/22/06-1]
With ASH's help, support, and
encouragement, Calabasas, California has passed a new ordinance which
creates a new paradigm for smoking, both indoors and outdoors. No smoking, rather than smoking, is now
the norm.
Smoking is banned in virtually all outdoor areas including sidewalks,
streets, alleys, outdoor patios of restaurants, parking lots, and even
loading docks. Smoking outdoors is confined to a few small
"smokers' outposts."
With ASH's support, and as accelerated
by the recent California ruling that outdoor tobacco smoke is a "toxic
air contaminant," similar restrictions throughout California are likely
to become common. Ultimately, the new paradigm will
probably spread across the countruy.
To learn more about ASH's support, and
why this ordinance creates a new paradigm for smoking, read excerpts
from ASH's testimony below.
To read ASH's earlier written submission to the City Council, see http://ash.org/calabasasltr.pdf
To read generally why ASH supports smoking bans outdoors, see http://ash.org/outdoors.pdf
You can also see Law Professor John
Banzhaf, ASH's Executive Director, present testimony which helped
persuade the Calabasas City Council to adopt this ordinance.
Actually, he testified twice.
The first portion of his testimony can be read at: http://no-smoking.org/Feb06/02-16-06-1.html
Excerpts from the second portion of
his testimony -- in which he explains about the new paradigm -- is set
out below
To see both portions of his testimony,
go to http://calabasas.granicus.com/ViewPublisher.php?view_id=2
and then click on the link to "view
video" for the meeting dated February 15th
HOW THE CALABASAS ORDINANCE CREATES A
NEW PARADIGM
Thank you Mr. Mayor:
My other purpose in coming here this evening is to present you and the
City with ASH’s check in the amount of Three Thousand Dollars to help
support the outreach effort for the new law you just put on the books.
ASH does this because, at the last meeting, the Council raised the need
for money to help disseminate information about this new ordinance –
and the need for smokefree air OUTdoors as well as indoors –
to other neighboring jurisdictions which are already thinking about it,
and may now be moved towards acting, not only by the ruling that
tobacco smoke,
both indoors and outdoors, is a Toxic Air Contaminant,
but also by your precedent-setting example.
Others may not yet realize it, but Calabasas has not only adopted the
best and most comprehensive clean outdoor air ordinance,
it has also created an entirely new
paradigm for dealing with tobacco smoke outdoors –
“Paradigm” being defined NOT
JUST as “serving as a pattern or model”
but more broadly as “A set of assumptions,
concepts, values, and practices that constitutes a way of viewing
reality for the community that shares them”
HERE’S WHY
Initially, society viewed smoking as the norm, and those concerned
about its adverse effects had to justify bans in specific areas like
airplanes, doctors’ offices, elevators, etc. – but, because smoking
remained the norm, we had to go back periodically and beg for
protection in additional areas.
California helped change this assumption with regard to air indoors,
so that today no smoking indoors is the norm, and smoking areas are the
exception.
But until now smoking outdoors followed the old paradigm – it was
permitted everywhere –
and advocates had to separately justify restrictions in areas like
beaches, playgrounds, parks, around doorways, etc.
Your city has now abandoned that old outdated paradigm
– outdoors, as well as indoors, no smoking, rather than smoking,
is the new norm
Advocates no longer have to come back and beg for protection in this
area and then in that area --
rather, it is smoking sections, rather than nonsmoking sections, which
must be justified
And, most importantly, children, and well as some slow adults,
will begin to see and appreciate that smoking is no longer the norm to
be emulated.
Rather, smoking will join gambling, boozing it up, spitting, and
certain sex-related pastimes as activities which,
while not illegal, should nevertheless be done in private where they do
not adversely affect or influence others.
Because spreading the word about this new ordinance and this new
paradigm
to other jurisdictions is so important,
and can have such a profound effect not only on dozens of other
California communities,
but also ultimately across the country,
ASH is proud and happy to make this donation to help in this outreach
effort.
Presented as a public service by Action on Smoking and Health (ASH),
2013 H Street, N.W., Wash., DC 20006, USA, (202) 659-4310.
ASH is a 36-year-old national legal-action antismoking and
nonsmokers' rights organization which is entirely supported by
tax-deductible contributions.
Please credit ASH, and include ASH's web address: http://ash.org