Imposter ballot initiatives from cigarette company

Arizona and Ohio have initiatives on the ballot to end smoking in public places and workplaces, including bars and restaurants. If the measures pass, these states will join Florida, California, New York and 9 other states that have enacted comprehensive laws protecting workers from unnecessary exposure to secondhand tobacco smoke. Instead of fighting these measures head-on as they always have, though, R.J. Reynolds Tobacco Company (makers of cigarette brands Camel and Winston) is using a different tactic: bringing much weaker alternative initiatives and pitching them to voters with deceptive-sounding names. The initiatives public health groups support are called Smoke-Free Arizona and SmokeFree Ohio, while the RJR-backed initiatives are called the Arizona Non-Smoker Protection Act and SmokeLess Ohio. Voters will need to do their homework and pay close attention to make the right decision about which measure to back.