Anti-smoking group seeks signatures to place issue on ballot

WINDOW ROCK

The time has come, according to an anti-smoking group, to make it illegal to smoke in any public place on the Navajo Reservation.

So the group – the Air is Life Coalition – is mounting a drive to put the issue before the Navajo voters as a referendum in the November general election for president and Council.

On Friday, the Navajo Election Administration approved the group to begin circulating petitions to get enough signatures to put the item on the ballot. The group now has six months to get 12,540 signatures of tribal members who voted in the last election.

But in order to make sure that they have enough valid signatures, the supporters of the proposal actually need as many as 18,000 to 20,000 signatures which makes the process even more difficult.

The good news is that an overwhelming number of Navajos support a ban on smoking in the workplace and in public areas on the reservation. A poll conducted by the group last year shows that 76 percent of tribal members support such a ban.

There is already a partial ban on smoking in the workplace.

Former Navajo Nation President Ben Shelly signed an executive order in 2012 banning smoking at any program within the executive branch.

He also tried to get the ban put in place at all the Navajo casinos as well but officials for the Navajo Gaming Enterprise protested, saying such a ban would have a major impact on the number of people who would come to the casino which would in turn affect their profits.

Shelly said Wednesday his decision to ban smoking in executive branch programs was a big step in making a healthier Navajo Nation.

“With this petition we want to ban smoking at all public facilities on the Nation,” he said, “to protect workers, expectant mothers and babies in the womb. Everyone has a right to be healthy.”

He added that the ban on smoking would not affect the right for tribal members to do traditional smoking during ceremonies.

The Council agreed to postpone the ban at the casinos while the enterprise was repaying back more than $220 million in loans from the tribe but if the matter gets on the ballot and gets voter approval, the casinos would also be banned from allowing smoking.

The group, formerly known as TEAM Navajo, has been advocating such a ban on the reservation for the past 10 years as a way to protect tribal members from second-hand smoke and thereby reduce the number of deaths caused by lung cancer.

Health officials estimate that less than five percent of the tribe’s population are active smokers and, like the general population throughout the country, the percentage is going down.

But there have also been reports that more younger Navajos are picking up the habit of using smokeless tobacco which can cause cancers in the mouth.

In a news release issued Wednesday, the group said hundreds, if not thousands, of Navajos are exposed to second-hand smoke on a daily basis. Almost all of the cities off the reservation have some sort of ban on smoking in public places.

The news release also quotes statistics from the Institute of Medicine that cite studies indicating that exposure to second-hand smoke can increase a non-smoker’s chances of getting a heart attack by 30 to 25 percent.

Getting a ban on public smoking will also increase the longevity of the Navajo people, said Al Yazzie, a member of the Teesto Chapter and the primary sponsor of the initiative.

“I have many relatives who work in an environment is permitted in the Navajo Reservation,” he said. “I think about their health and I am concerned. Air is life and every breath is sacred. I want our people to have a long, prosperous and healthy life.”

Officials for the effort are now seeking people who want to help pass out petitions or help in other ways. To offer your support or keep in touch with the efforts of the group, people can call 1-928-289-6449 or follow them on Facebook at facebook.com/AurisLifeNavajo or on other social media.

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