Letter from Executive Director

Great news from Cincinnati! Beginning January 1, 2007, nineteen hospitals in the Cincinnati area will have 100% tobacco-free campuses. Thanks to the Greater Cincinnati Health Council for leading this effort and encouraging hospitals to further the movement towards 100% tobacco-free workplaces. There are now at least 33 tobacco-free hospitals in Ohio, and there may be at least 50 tobacco-free hospitals by the end of the year. Around the state and around the country, more and more hospitals are taking action to provide a healthier and safer environment for their patients, visitors, and staff. Read more about it in our feature article.

Closer to home, the Tobacco Public Policy Center has been hard at work developing two new websites that we plan to unveil later this summer. The first will be a resource guide for employers seeking information about tobacco issues in the workplace. It will include information about becoming a smoke-free workplace as well as additional ways that employers can reduce costs related to tobacco use.

The second site we are developing is a smoke-free housing website. This site will allow individuals in the rental housing market to both advertise and search for smoke-free housing. In addition to providing a smoke-free housing registry, this site will serve as a resource guide for both tenants and landlords dealing with smoking issues in multi-unit housing.

We are excited to be able to present these new websites and look forward to any comments or suggestions you might have regarding their development. As always, please feel free to contact us at tobacco@law.capital.edu for more information about any of these topics or any area of specific concern.