Americans for Nonsmokers' Rights (ANR), founded in 1976, is an American member-supported
501(c)(4)
A 501(c) organization is a nonprofit organization in the federal law of the United States according to Internal Revenue Code (26 U.S.C. ยง 501(c)) and is one of over 29 types of nonprofit organizations exempt from some federal income taxes. ...
tax-exempt non-profit national
lobbying
In politics, lobbying, persuasion or interest representation is the act of lawfully attempting to influence the actions, policies, or decisions of government officials, most often legislators or members of regulatory agencies. Lobbying, which ...
organization, based in
Berkeley, California
Berkeley ( ) is a city on the eastern shore of San Francisco Bay in northern Alameda County, California, United States. It is named after the 18th-century Irish bishop and philosopher George Berkeley. It borders the cities of Oakland and E ...
, "dedicated to nonsmokers' rights, taking on the
tobacco industry
The tobacco industry comprises those persons and companies who are engaged in the growth, preparation for sale, shipment, advertisement, and distribution of tobacco and tobacco-related products. It is a global industry; tobacco can grow in any ...
at all levels of government, protecting nonsmokers from exposure to
secondhand smoke
Passive smoking is the inhalation of tobacco smoke, called secondhand smoke (SHS), or environmental tobacco smoke (ETS), by persons other than the intended "active" smoker. It occurs when tobacco smoke enters an environment, causing its inhalat ...
, and preventing
tobacco addiction among youth. ANR pursues an action-oriented program of policy and legislation."
According to a 2006
US Surgeon General
The surgeon general of the United States is the operational head of the United States Public Health Service Commissioned Corps (PHSCC) and thus the leading spokesperson on matters of public health in the federal government of the United States. ...
's Report,
the first national organization to focus on the need for a local clean indoor air policy was ANR, which is still the recognized leader in the field. ANR has supported local efforts in a number of ways: providing technical assistance, training, and strategic guidance to local coalitions; keeping them informed of the latest policy trends and opposition tactics; linking a coalition with local coalitions in other parts of the country that were encountering similar experiences; developing 'best practices' guidelines (ANR 2002); and disseminating model ordinances. ANR maintains a database of local ordinances and their provisions in order to track progress in eliminating unintended loopholes and addressing legal issues.
The ANR maintains th
US Tobacco Control Laws Database "the only national repository of local tobacco-related ordinances and regulations in the United States," containing over 10,000 ordinances and 65,000 pages of laws.
See also
*
Regulation of tobacco by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration
*
Tobacco-Free Pharmacies
A tobacco-free pharmacy is a retail pharmacy where the sale of tobacco products is not available. Outside the United States, it is illegal in countries such as in France and most of Canada for pharmacy stores to sell cigarettes and similar produc ...
References
{{reflist, 2
External links
American Nonsmokers' Rights Foundation websiteAmericans for Nonsmokers' Rights website
Smoking in the United States
Lobbying in the United States
Organizations based in Berkeley, California
Organizations established in 1976