The Florida Legislature has made a number of important steps to make our state smoke-free. In 2003, a constitutional amendment to ban smoking in enclosed indoor workplaces - including restaurants - went into effect. However, enacting a law that makes it difficult for smokers to light up in public is only half the battle. ...more

May 24, 2008

SEBRING — About 400 middle and high school students met regularly to plan activities on spreading the word about the dangers of tobacco and smoking. That was five years ago before a funding cut in 2003 severely curtailed, or at some schools ended the Students Working Against Tobacco (S.W.A.T.) program. With a federal grant to fund it, the Highlands County Health Department proposes to reinstitute the program in the county's high schools. Active S.W.A.T. membership in the county has dropped 70.8 percent since the year 2000, according Donna Noel Stayton, Health Department tobacco prevention specialist. About 28.1 percent of the high school students in Highlands County reported using tobacco within the last 30 days of taking the 2006 Florida Youth Tobacco Survey . ...more

January 22, 2008

Florida's landmark victory over the forces of Big Tobacco, secured by the vigorous efforts of Gov. Lawton Chiles and former Attorney General Bob Butterworth 10 years ago this month, has left an enduring legacy that has proudly protected a generation of our children from the lethal lure of cigarette smoking. ...more

September 25, 2007