Tobacco-Free Kids Action Fund Launches Mail Campaign Supporting Melina Kennedy for Indianapolis Mayor

Kennedy Backs Smoke-Free Law, While Greg Ballard Broke Promise and Killed the Bill

WASHINGTON, Oct. 24, 2011 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- The Tobacco-Free Kids Action Fund today launched an independent, direct mail campaign in support of Melina Kennedy for mayor of Indianapolis because she is the only candidate committed to enacting a comprehensive smoke-free law that applies to all workplaces, including restaurants and bars.

The campaign will contrast Kennedy's position to that of Mayor Greg Ballard, who broke a campaign promise to support smoke-free legislation and has been the main obstacle to making Indianapolis smoke-free. The Tobacco-Free Kids Action Fund endorsed Kennedy in August.

"70 percent of Indianapolis voters support a comprehensive smoke-free law, and they deserve to know where the candidates for mayor stand on this important health issue," said Matthew L. Myers, President of the Tobacco-Free Kids Action Fund.  "Melina Kennedy is a strong champion for a smoke-free Indianapolis and is committed to enacting a smoke-free law that protects everyone's right to breathe clean air.  In contrast, Greg Ballard broke his promise to support smoke-free legislation and instead killed the bill in a backroom deal."

A sample of the direct mail can be found at http://www.tobaccofreeaction.org/indymail.pdf .

In 2007, as a candidate for mayor, Ballard wrote, "I can assure you that I am a supporter of the smoke-free workplace.  Secondhand smoke is a proven health hazard, and I would support any legislation to limit the impact of secondhand smoke."

However, as mayor in 2009, Ballard opposed the smoke-free legislation and threatened to veto it in a closed-door meeting with City-County Council members, according to The Indianapolis Star.  Star editorials called Ballard "the biggest obstacle to passage" and "the most disappointing figure in this entire debate."

The mail campaign will also highlight Ballard's record of broken promises on other issues, including breaking promises to put more police officers on the street and to make education a priority.

A 2010 poll found that 70 percent of Indianapolis voters support a law making workplaces, including bars and restaurants, smoke-free. The poll found broad, bipartisan support for the law, including large majorities of men and women, whites and African-Americans, and Democratic, Republican and Independent voters across the city.

By passing a smoke-free law that covers all restaurants and bars, Indianapolis would join more than 600 U.S. cities that have such laws.  Most cities in the Midwest, including Chicago, Cleveland, Columbus, Minneapolis-St. Paul, and Milwaukee, are smoke-free. Indianapolis business leaders have argued this puts the city at a competitive disadvantage in attracting conventions, businesses, workers and tourists looking for a healthy, smoke-free environment.

The need for comprehensive smoke-free laws is clear. In issuing his 2006 groundbreaking report on secondhand smoke, U.S. Surgeon General Richard Carmona stated, "The debate is over. The science is clear: Secondhand smoke is not a mere annoyance, but a serious health hazard that causes premature death and disease in children and nonsmoking adults."

Secondhand smoke contains more than 7,000 chemicals, including hundreds that are toxic and at least 69 that cause cancer.  The Surgeon General found that secondhand smoke causes lung cancer, heart disease, respiratory illnesses, low birth weight and sudden infant death syndrome. The Surgeon General also found that secondhand smoke is responsible for tens of thousands of deaths in the United States each year, there is no risk-free level of exposure, and only smoke-free laws provide effective protection from secondhand smoke. The evidence is also clear that smoke-free laws protect health without harming business.

The Tobacco-Free Kids Action Fund is a non-partisan 501(c)(4) nonprofit organization affiliated with, but separate from the Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids, a 501(c)(3) nonprofit.  The Action Fund works to reduce the devastating toll of tobacco use and secondhand smoke nationally and in Indiana by mounting education, advocacy and electoral campaigns in support of policies that reduce tobacco use.

SOURCE Tobacco-Free Kids Action Fund