April 30th Update Letter

Southern Tobacco Communities Project

... working to create constructive relationships among tobacco producers, health advocates, and others concerned with changes facing these families and communities, to enable them to:

Replace inflammatory rhetoric, stereotyping, and automatic enmity in favor of civil, problem solving dialogue;
Understand each others' needs, values and concerns;
Identify areas of common ground and even interdependence, while acknowledging areas of difference; and, finally,
Work together to create realistic, sensible and sustainable options for communities and families facing pressures associated with transition.

Rebecca Reeve Project Director Institute for Quality Health 141 Ednam Drive Charlottesville VA 22903 804-979-9355; fax - 5146 rhr5c@virginia.edu

Update - April 30, 1998

Greetings! News affecting those with an interest in the future of tobacco farming communities seems to be on the front page every day. Here is an update on national and state news, as well as activities of the Southern Tobacco Communities Project.

President Clinton's visit to Kentucky ... saw a number of participants in Southern Tobacco Community activities in the local and national news. Burley Tobacco Growers Cooperative Board President Rod Kuegel, Commodity Growers Cooperative Director Karen Armstrong-Cummings, and Coalition for Health and Agricultural Development Coordinator Amy Barkley all participated in a roundtable discussion with the President. They reported his strong interest in protecting both tobacco growing communities and public health, particularly youth. He also appeared very supportive of continuing the key components of a tobacco program.

The McCain bill ... which passed the Senate Commerce Committee contains strong public health components and strong protections for tobacco producers and tobacco producing communities, but has also been attacked for a variety of failings. Everyone is waiting to see how specific legislative language addresses various concerns, and the political climate is very uncertain at this time.

The draft tobacco community investment fund proposal ... the subject of a March 3 Roundtable meeting in Kentucky, has been presented to legislative staff working on the McCain legislation. Latest word is that it will be difficult to change the existing investment proposal language, which puts the money primarily in governors' hands, without leadership from other legislators.

A Meeting for Public Health Advocates ... and More?

May 18, in Washington, D.C. ... a number of members of the public health community interested in tobacco growing communities have agreed to gather to be briefed about and discuss these pending legislative matters. They want to ensure that there is a clear strong public health voice for legislation to reflect the Core Principles.
Key tobacco producer leaders are also interested in meeting with public health advocates about what is occurring on the legislative front, including the McCain bill. As of April 30, we don't know when or even for sure that such a Roundtable meeting will be held before the legislation comes up for a vote in the Senate. If such a meeting occurs, it may be possible to hold this joint meeting on the 18th, or another date might be necessary. At any rate, the May 18 meeting, which will be held at the Governor's House Hotel, is open to farmers and others who have attended previous Roundtable meetings, and funding for travel is available. Contact Margie Siegel at 804-979-9355 for more information. We will let you know of further plans as soon as possible.

The Core Principles Statement Between the Public Health Community and the Tobacco Producers Community ... continues to garner support. The Commissioner of the Kentucky Department of Agriculture offered his support and endorsement of the Core Principles, with the exception that they believe in strong state laws to prohibit anyone under the age of 18 from purchasing tobacco products, but do not support giving localities the ability to implement their own laws pertaining to the marketing, advertisement, and sale of tobacco products. The Medical Society of Virginia has now endorsed them as well.

In a news release ... titled "American Public Health Association Seeks Protections for Public Health and Tobacco Farmers," Mohammad N. Akhter, MD, MPH, executive director of the American Public Health Association, was quoted as saying "The health of Americans is paramount, but it is also incumbent on us to assist the farmers and communities who might be hurt by national tobacco control legislation." APHA is the largest and oldest organization of public health professionals in the world with more than 50,000 members. The Core Principles appear in the most recent Nation's Health newsletter from APHA (see enclosure). Several APHA affiliates, including the Georgia and Virginia Public Health Associations, have joined the call to protect public health and tobacco farmers by endorsing the Core Principles.

Updates from State Consensus Building Activities:

The Tennessee Tobacco Working Group held its first meeting on March 26, 1998. Dr. Kelly Tiller of the University of Tennessee's Agricultural Policy Analysis Center facilitated the meeting, which attracted 16 tobacco producers, public health advocates, and researchers interested in the future of Tennessee's tobacco growing communities. Lively discussion highlighted both agreement and disagreement; one agreement was on the need to continue to discuss proposed national tobacco legislation and general health and economic issues involving tobacco in Tennessee. A next meeting is scheduled for May 13, 1998. For more information you can contact Dr. Kelly Tiller (423-974-7407; e-mail ktiller@utk.edu; http://apacweb.ag.utk.edu/).

The Kentucky Health and Agriculture Forum reports its next meeting on Tuesday, May 12, 9:30 - 11:30 a.m. Kentucky's Governor has established a Small Farm Commission, an action which is seen as a welcome effort to draw attention to the plight of small farms. Contact Amy Barkley of the Coalition for Health and Agricultural Development (606-873-4779; e-mail BARK106W@cdc.gov) for more information.

South Carolina's Tobacco Forum Steering Committee is just beginning its efforts. They have scheduled a Tobacco Farm Tour in Galivants Ferry for Thursday, June 11, 1998. Contact Ada Lou Steirer, Ellen Saltzman, or Holley Ulbrich from the Strom Thurmond Institute at Clemson University (864-656-0213, ada_lou@strom.clemson.edu, ellen@strom.clemson.edu, holley@strom.clemson.edu).

As requested ... by a number of people, enclosed are these items -

A New York Times editorial from Sen. Richard Lugar attacking public health groups who have opposed his plans to end the program of price supports and quotas;
Excerpts from the American Public Health Association newsletter describing their principles for national tobacco control policy, and a copy of the policy letter they sent to Congress.

The portion of the McCain bill dealing with the tobacco program and community development is still not available, but will be mailed to each of you when it is made available for public review.

I look forward to staying in touch with you as we learn more about what is going on in Congress and elsewhere. Send us your news and updates for inclusion in our next mailing!

Frank Dukes Institute for Environmental Negotiation 164 Rugby Rd. Charlottesville, VA 22903 Phone: 804-924-2041 Fax 804-924-0231 E-mail: ed7k@virginia.edu