News and Media

Boise Smoking Ordinance Enacted and In Effect

Boise City Enacts Smokefree Ordinance!
Boise City's Smokefree Ordinance went into effect on January 2, 2012. Idaho state law already restricted smoking in many public places, but the Boise ordinance expanded the restrictions to include almost all enclosed places of employment within the City and all or part of Boise's public parks, including the Greenbelt. In this new ordinance, bars, private clubs, taxis, and other areas are included.

No smoking signs must be prominently displayed at businesses. You can use the "No Smoking Signs" found in most places or the international "No Smoking" symbol - an image showing a burning cigarette in a red circle with a red bar across it.

A sign must appear at every entrance stating that smoking is prohibited. If the place of employment is a vehicle, there has to be at least one conspicuous sign, visible from the exterior of the vehicle.

For more information and to read the text of the ordinance, go to the Boise City Smoke-free Ordinance site at http://www.cityofboise.org/Departments/Mayor/Smoke-Free/page67413.aspx.

Secondhand Smoke Frequently Asked Questions (click here to download)

Filter Out the Noise Newsletter July

Here's Project Filter's July newsletter, called "Filter Out the Noise." This issue covers new tobacco products on the market. Feel free to download and share it!

Project Filter Talks Back to the Tobacco Manufacturer, RJ Reynolds

At the beginning of 2011, RJ Reynolds (RJR), makers of Camel Snus smokeless tobacco, began running ads in the alternative news publication, Boise Weekly. RJR knew that this would be a good way to gain new customers because their "cleverly" worded ads said all the right things to the people they wanted to reach. RJR's ads come at you with lots of phrases that include the word, "free" – after all, who doesn't like freedom? It's a calculated attempt to pair a good, positive word with a product that is highly addicting. Ask yourself – what's free about addiction?

But Project Filter wasn't going to sit back and ignore the fact that RJR came to our city with the hopes of addicting thousands of other people. Here you'll see some of the ads from RJ Reynolds and the ones Project Filter placed to counter them. (Mouse click to advance the slides or press the arrow down button on your keyboard.)

Secondhand Smoke is Dangerous: Get the Facts

Check out the December 12 article in the Statesman: Meridian May Ban Smoking in Parks. Project Filter commends the efforts of Joanne Graff, Central District Health, for working to make this a possibility. The majority of readers support the ban, as indicated by their comments. Some of the comments from those against the ban are interesting, but none of them offer studies or data to support their statements that secondhand smoke is NOT dangerous. If you're interested in finding out more from credible sources, here are a few:

Selected References

National Toxicology Program. Report on Carcinogens. Eleventh Edition. U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Public Health Service, National Toxicology Program, 2005.

National Cancer Institute. Cancer Progress Report 2003. U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Public Health Service, National Institutes of Health, 2004.

International Agency for Research on Cancer. Tobacco Smoke and Involuntary Smoking. Lyon, France: 2002. IARC Monographs on the Evaluation of Carcinogenic Risks to Humans, Vol. 83.

U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. The Health Consequences of Involuntary Exposure to Tobacco Smoke: A Report of the Surgeon General. Rockville, MD: U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Coordinating Center for Health Promotion, National Center for Chronic Disease Prevention and Health Promotion, Office on Smoking and Health, 2006.

National Cancer Institute. Health Effects of Exposure to Environmental Tobacco Smoke. Bethesda, MD: National Cancer Institute; 1999. Smoking and Tobacco Control Monograph 10.

U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. Respiratory Health Effects of Passive Smoking (Also Known as Exposure to Secondhand Smoke or Environmental Tobacco Smoke--ETS). U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, 1992.

California Environmental Protection Agency, Office of Environmental Health Hazard Assessment. Proposed Identification of Environmental Tobacco Smoke as a Toxic Air Contaminant: Part B Health Effects, 2005.

U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. Healthy People 2010: Understanding and Improving Health. 2nd ed. Washington, DC: U.S. Government Printing Office, 2000.