Tobacco Public Policy Center At Law School
Announces First Annual Conference Oct. 20

September 13, 2005

The Tobacco Public Policy Center at Capital University Law School will hold its first annual conference, Toward a Model Ohio: Using the Law to Reduce and Prevent Tobacco Use, on Thursday, Oct. 20, at the Columbus Airport Marriott.

The conference will provide useful information for attorneys, policymakers, public-health professionals, business leaders and tobacco control advocates. It will feature presentations on a wide range of tobacco policy issues including clean indoor air ordinances, smokefree housing, school tobacco policies and lawsuits against the tobacco industry.

Douglas Blanke, director of the Tobacco Law Center at the William Mitchell College of Law in St. Paul, Minn., and a leading expert on tobacco law, will be the keynote speaker for the conference. Blanke also directs the Tobacco Control Legal Consortium, a nationwide network of policy institutes of which Capital Law School’s tobacco public policy center is the newest member. Blanke will present “Ten Cases to Watch: A Report from the Courts.”

Other conference speakers include:

• Franklin County Common Please Judge Eric Brown, former assistant attorney general involved in Ohio’s lawsuit against the tobacco industry;
• Elizabeth Watters, a partner in the law firm Chester Wilcox & Saxbe, LLP, and former outside counsel for Ohio’s lawsuit against the tobacco industry;
• Christina Mickey, director of the Smoke-Free Initiative of West Virginia;
• John Madigan, general counsel for the Toledo Law Department;
• Jim Bergman, director of Smoke-Free Environments Law Project in Ann Arbor, Mich.;
• Mark Russell, vice president and chief administrative officer for Grange Insurance;
• Nicholas Zuk, vice president and corporate counsel for White Castle System, Inc.; and
• Dr. Donald McNeil Jr., associate professor of clinical medicine at The Ohio State University.

Registration for the conference is $25 and can be completed online. Space is limited to 150 people, and registration must be completed by Friday, Sept. 30. The conference offers 6.0 Continuing Legal Education (CLE) hours.

About the Tobacco Public Policy Center
The Tobacco Public Policy Center at Capital University Law School is a new legal resource center for the Ohio tobacco control community and for government entities trying to reduce smoking and tobacco use in their communities. Established in February 2005, the center is funded by a generous four-year grant from the Ohio Tobacco Use Prevention and Control Foundation. With the assistance of Capital University Law School’s faculty, staff and student resources, the Tobacco Public Policy Center conducts policy research directed toward reducing tobacco use, protecting the public from secondhand smoke and preventing teenage smoking. It also educates public-health organizations, community groups and legislators on legal policy matters that impact tobacco use and regulation.

About the Ohio Tobacco Use and Prevention Control Foundation (TUPCF)
The Ohio Tobacco Use Prevention and Control Foundation was created by the Ohio General Assembly in 2000 and is funded with monies secured from the national Master Settlement Agreement (MSA) between tobacco companies and 46 states. TUPCF is charged with reducing tobacco use among Ohioans, with an emphasis on youth, minority and regional populations, pregnant women and others who may be disproportionately affected by the use of tobacco. Following the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) Best Practices, TUPCF programs range from the distribution of community grants and special focus initiatives to Ohio’s tobacco use counter-marketing campaign, stand, and the free Ohio Tobacco Quit Line (1-800-QUIT-NOW). For more information on TUPCF and its programs, go to standohio.org.

About Capital University and the Law School
Capital University Law School, founded in 1903, offers three degree programs – a Juris Doctor, LL.M. and a Master in Taxation Degree. The Law School houses national centers and institutes, including the National Center for Adoption Law and Policy and the Center for Dispute Resolution. In addition to enrolling nearly 1,000 students, Capital Law School also serves the legal profession and business professionals through certificate programs, such as the paralegal, legal nurse consultant and life-care planner programs, and a variety of scholarly symposia and conferences. Located in Columbus, Ohio, Capital University combines personal attention with a balanced liberal arts and professional studies education to prepare students for lifelong learning, leadership and service through six colleges: College of Arts and Sciences; Conservatory of Music; School of Education, Professional Studies and Social Work; School of Nursing; School of Management; and the Law School. Capital’s New Center in the Arena District of Downtown Columbus houses its MBA Program and offers a wide range of non-degree courses for professionals. Capital also serves its adult learners through the Centers for Lifelong Learning in Columbus, Dayton and Cleveland. Capital is the oldest and largest university affiliated with the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America.

For more information, please contact Micah Berman, executive director for the Tobacco Public Policy Center at Capital University Law School, at (614) 236-7314.