SUBJECT:     TOBACCO CONTROL POLICIES FOR HEALTHY NEIGHBORHOODS VENTURE FUND (HNVF) FUNDED PROGRAMS

 

 

RECOMMENDATION

 

Adoption of the following tobacco control policies for programs funded by the Healthy Neighborhoods Venture Fund (HNVF):

 

·        Comprehensive Smoke-free Environment Policy requiring HNVF funded programs to prohibit the use of tobacco products at any time in agency vehicles, buildings, and property;

·        Disclosure of Tobacco Company Contributions Policy precluding the award of HNVF funds to applicants who receive or solicit funds, goods, or services from tobacco companies but not to applicants who receive or solicit funds, goods, or services from subsidiaries of tobacco companies;

·        Fund Acknowledgement Policy requiring HNVF funded programs to acknowledge the receipt of funds from the City of San Jose HNVF Program and allowing programs that receive contributions from subsidiaries of tobacco companies to acknowledge receipt of funds from only the subsidiary, and not the parent company, in printed and other materials;

·        Divestment from Tobacco Policy requiring HNVF funded programs to divest any stock or funds in companies that derive more than 15 percent of their revenues from tobacco companies and their subsidiaries.

 

REPORT IN BRIEF

 

This report and its attachments recommend tobacco control policies for Healthy Neighborhoods Venture Fund (HNVF) funded programs.  Attachment A lists the publicly traded tobacco companies in the United States.  Attachment B provides a partial list of tobacco company subsidiaries. 

 

BACKGROUND

 

The HNVF Advisory Committee, at its August 8, 2001 meeting, directed staff to present to the Committee the results of staff’s research and recommendations on adopting a policy to preclude the award of HNVF funds to applicants who receive funds, goods or services from tobacco companies.  At its October 17, 2001 meeting, the HNVF Advisory Committee approved the recommended tobacco control policies for programs funded by the HNVF Program.  Award of HNVF funds will be conditioned on implementation of these policies by the agency.

 

ANALYSIS

 

Staff conducted research to find out whether certain jurisdictions implement tobacco control policies for Proposition 10 funded programs.  Following are the jurisdictions surveyed and the results:

 

·        Alameda County Health Department – The Alameda County Health Department has the “Comprehensive Tobacco Control Policies for Proposition 10 Funded Programs and Contractors”.  It consists of 1) Comprehensive Smoke-free Environment Policy, 2) Disclosure of Tobacco Company Contributions Policy, and 3) Divestment from Tobacco Policy.

 

The Department’s Comprehensive Smoke-free Environment Policy prohibits the use of tobacco products at any time in agency vehicles, buildings, and property.  The purpose of this policy is to protect staff, clients, and children from secondhand smoke; to increase staff and clients’ awareness of the need to actively prevent exposure to secondhand tobacco smoke; and to help staff and clients who wish to quit smoking.

 

The Disclosure of Tobacco Company Contributions Policy requires funded programs to disclose the acceptance of funds, goods, or services from any tobacco company or its subsidiaries.  It also requires that funded agencies that accept contributions from the tobacco industry to cease acceptance and solicitation of such contributions. “Contributions” is defined as financial contributions, sponsorships, gifts, or services from any tobacco company or its subsidiaries (including but not limited to those entities listed in Attachment B).  The purpose of this policy is to negate the tobacco industry’s attempt to gain legitimacy from the good deeds of organizations by contributing money, thereby “laundering” the true nature of their product and its consequences.

 

The Divestment from Tobacco Policy requires funded agencies to divest any stock or funds in companies that derive more than 15 percent of their revenues from tobacco products.  The purpose of this policy is to cease promoting the use of tobacco products by financially supporting the industry.

 

·        Children and Families First Commission (Santa Clara County) – No policy on disclosing and/or ceasing acceptance of contributions from tobacco companies exists.

 

·        Shasta County – Shasta County has a policy that is modeled after the Alameda County’s policy.

 

·        Santa Cruz County – Santa Cruz County does not currently have a policy but is in the process of researching the issue.

 

·        San Luis Obispo - No policy on disclosing and/or ceasing acceptance of contributions from tobacco companies exists.

 

Advantages of Having a Comprehensive Tobacco Control Policy

 

The Investor Responsibility Research Center (IRRC) lists 86 publicly traded tobacco companies located in 33 countries throughout the world.  Eleven of these companies are located in the United States.  These companies and the nature of their tobacco operations are listed in Attachment A.  The tobacco industry utilizes a lot of its resources to get people to use its products.  A tobacco control policy similar to the Alameda County Health Department’s will:

 

·        through the Smoke-free Environment Policy send a message that the funded program “practices what it preaches”.  Posted signs within the program’s premises increase awareness on the dangers of tobacco and serves as a daily reminder of the program’s commitment to being a tobacco-free community.  The program protects the health of staff and program participants, and it helps those who actually are trying to quit smoking or are contemplating to quit smoking.

 

·        through the Fund Acknowledgement, Disclosure of Tobacco Company Contributions, and the Divestment from Tobacco policies, enable the City to assist in blocking the tobacco industry’s attempt to gain legitimacy from the good deeds of organizations and make it difficult for the tobacco industry to be profitable by reducing financial support for its products.

 

Disadvantages of Having a Comprehensive Tobacco Control Policy

 

The Alameda County Health Department’s policies preclude funded projects from soliciting and accepting contributions both directly from these tobacco companies and from their subsidiaries.  Further research on the impact of precluding funded projects from receiving funds from subsidiaries of the tobacco companies revealed that the policy will exclude programs that routinely receive in-kind donations for their programs from either receiving these donations from the subsidiaries or from receiving HNVF funds.  Because of the diversity of products from tobacco subsidiaries, this could be a major impact on programs that routinely receive or are contemplating on receiving donated food and/or other items.  Attachment B lists products from tobacco subsidiaries.  These products range from donated cereals, processed meats, snacks, and dry goods to trading cards and cookware and tools.  Precluding receipt of donation in the form of these products will severely impact programs such as senior, child care, youth, or homeless programs that utilize them. 

 

To mitigate this concern, the HNVF Advisory Committee recommends a policy for the HNVF Program that precludes funded agencies from accepting contributions directly from tobacco companies but allows these agencies to receive contributions from tobacco company subsidiaries.  Additionally, HNVF funded programs that receive contributions from subsidiaries of tobacco companies will be required to acknowledge the HNVF Program and only the subsidiary, and not the parent company, in printed and other materials.  Through the Fund Acknowledgement Policy, the City assists in blocking the tobacco industry’s attempt to gain legitimacy from the good deeds of organizations and makes it difficult for the tobacco industry to be profitable by reducing financial support for its products.

 

PUBLIC OUTREACH

 

The HNVF Advisory Committee’s recommendations were developed in a series of publicly noticed meetings. 

 

COORDINATION

 

This memorandum was coordinated with the City Attorney’s Office. 

 

 

MARK LINDER

Director, Parks, Recreation

and Neighborhood Services

Attachments

 

ATTACHMENT A

 

PUBLICLY TRADED TOBACCO COMPANIES IN THE UNITED STATES

 

1.   Brooke Group Ltd. (formerly Liggett & Meyers)- cigarette manufacturer

2.   DIMON Inc. - leaf tobacco processor

3.   General Cigar Holdings Inc. - cigar manufacturer and cigar club operator

4.   Loews Corp. - cigarette manufacturer

5.   Philipp Morris Cos. Inc. - cigarette manufacturer

6.   RJ Reynolds Tobacco Holdings Inc. - cigarette manufacturer

7.   Schweitzer-Maduit Int’l. Inc. - reconstituted tobacco manufacturer

8.   Standard Commercial Corp. - leaf tobacco processor

9.   Star Scientific Inc. - cigarette and nicotine gum manufacturer

10.  Universal Corp - leaf tobacco processor

11.  UST Inc. - moist smokeless tobacco and cigar manufacturer  

 

ATTACHMENT B

 

PARTIAL LIST OF TOBACCO COMPANY SUBSIDIARIES

 

This list is not a comprehensive resource and should not be relied upon to be complete or correct since changes in corporate and product ownership commonly occur.

 

PARENT COMPANY:  Philip Morris Incorporated, Philip Morris International, Inc., Kraft Foods, Inc., and Miller Brewing Company.

 

KRAFT Foods, Selected Brands

Coffee:

Maxwell House, Sanka, Yuban, General Foods, International coffees, Maxim, Starbucks

 

 

Soft Drinks:

Country Time, Crystal Light, Kool-Aid, Tang, Capri Sun

 

 

POST Cereals:

Alpha-Bits, Banana Nut Crunch, Blueberry Morning, Cranberry Almond Crunch, Frosted Shredded Wheat, Fruit & Fiber, Golden Crisp, Grape-Nuts O’s, Great Grains, Honey Bunches of Oats, Honeycomb, Honey Nut Shredded Wheat, Natural Bran Flakes, Oreo O’s, Pebbles, Raisin Bran, Shredded Wheat, Shredded Wheat ’n Bran, Spoon Size Shredded Wheat, Toasties, Waffle Crisp, 100% Bran

 

 

Condiments & Sauces:

Kraft mayonnaise, Kraft barbecue and grilling sauces, Miracle Whip, Bull’s-Eye barbecue and grilling sauces, Kraft Sauceworks cocktail, horseradish, sweet ’n sour, and tartar sauces.

 

 

Confectioneries:

Altoids mints, Callard & Bowser toffees, La Vosgienne, Toblerone and Tobler chocolates

 

 

Dry Desserts:

D-Zerta, Jell-O, Minute brand tapioca

 

 

Dry Grocery:

Baker’s chocolate and coconut, Calumet baking powder, Oven Fry coatings, Shake ‘N Bake, Sure-Jell and Certo pectins

 

 

Ethnic Foods:

Taco Bell dinner kits, salsa and meal components

 

 

Meals/Side Dishes:

Kraft macaroni & cheese, Minute rice, Stove Top stuffing mix, Stove Top Oven Classics, Velveeta shells & cheese

 

 

Salad Dressing:

Good Seasons mixes, Kraft, Seven Seas

 

 

Snacks:

Handi-Snacks, Kraft

 

 

Toppings:

Dream Whip whipped topping mix, Kraft dessert toppings, Cool Whip

 

 

Cheese:

 

Parmesan/Romano

Kraft, Kraft Free, Di Giorno

 

 

Natural

Kraft, Cracker Barrel, Harvest Moon

 

 

Processed American Cheese

Kraft Deluxe, Kraft Singles, Kraft Super Slice, Kraft Cheez Whiz, Light ‘n Lively, Old English, Velveeta

 

 

Cream Cheese

Philadelphia, Philly Flavors, Temp-Tee

 

 

Other Cheeses

Athenos, Churny, Di Giorno, Hoffman’s, Polly-O

 

 

Dairy Products:

Breakstone’s sour cream, cottage cheese and dips, Breyers yogurt, Jell-O yogurt, Knudsen sour cream and cottage cheese, Light n’ Lively low-fat cottage cheese, yogurt, Sealtest cottage cheese and sour cream

 

 

Fresh Pasta & Sauces:

Di Giorno

 

 

Processed Meats:

Oscar Mayer hot dogs, cold cuts and bacon, Oscar Mayer Lunchables, Louis Rich turkey products (hot dogs, cold cuts, and bacon), Louis Rich Carving Board sliced meats

 

 

Pickles & Sauerkraut:

Claussen

 

 

Pizza:

Di Giorno, Jack’s, Tombstone

 

KRAFT Foods International, Selected Brands

Cheese:

Dairylea, Eden, El Caserio, Invernizzi, Kraft, P’tit Quebec, Philadelphia, Sottilette

 

 

Coffee:

Blendy, Carte Noire, Gevalia, Grand’ Mere, Jacobs Kronung, Jacobs Monarch, Jacques Vabre, Kaffee HAG, Kenco, Maxim, Maxwell House, Saimaza, Splendid

 

 

Confectioneries:

Aladdin, Cote d’Or, Daim, Figaro, Freia, Hollywood, Korona, Lacta, Marabou, Milka, Poiana, Prince Polo, Suchard, Sugus, Terry, Toblerone Powdered Soft Drinks, Clight, Frisco, Q-Refresko, Tang

 

 

Other:

Bird’s Custard, Estrella snacks, Kraft ketchup, Kraft peanut butter, Magic Moments pudding, Miracle Whip/Dream Whip spread, Miracoli pasta, Simmenthal canned meats, Vegemite spread

Miller Trademark Brands

Miller Lite, Miller Lite Ice, Miller Genuine Draft, Miller Genuine Draft Lite, Miller High Life, Miller High Life Light, Miller High Life Ice, Miller Beer, Sharp’s non-alcohol brew, Milwaukee’s Best, Milwaukee’s Best Light, Milwaukee’s Best Ice, Meister Brau, Meister Brau Light, Magnum Malt Liquor, Henry Weinhard’s Private Reserve, Henry Weinhard’s Dark, Henry Weinhard’s Porter, Henry Weinhard’s Amber Ale, Henry Weinhard’s Pale Ale, Henry Weinhard’s Hefeweizen, Henry Weinhard’s Red Lager, Hamm’s, Hamm’s Draft, Hamm's Light, Olde English 800 Malt Liquor, Olde English 800 Ice, Mickey's Malt Liquor, Mickey’s Ice, Red Dog, ICEHOUSE, Southpaw Light, ICEHOUSE Light, Leinenkugel’s Original Premium, Leinenkugel’s Light, Leinenkugel’s Northwoods Lager, Leinenkugel’s Genuine Bock Autumn Gold (seasonal), Leinenkugel’s Honey Weiss, Leinenkugel’s Berry Weiss (seasonal) Leinenkugel’s Auburn Ale, Leinenkugel's Big Butt Dopplebock (seasonal), Leinenkugel’s Maple Brown Lager, Leinenkugel’s Cream Draft (draft only), Leinenkugel's Raspberry, Celis Dubbel Ale, Pale Rider Ale, Shipyard Export Ale, Goat Island Light Ale, Fuggles Pale Ale, Old Thumper Extra Special Ale, Blue Fin Stout, Longfellow Winter Ale (seasonal), Longfellow India Pale Ale (seasonal), Mystic Seaport Pale Ale, Chamberlain Pale Ale, Sirius Summer Wheat Ale (seasonal), Prelude Ale (seasonal), Molson Golden, Molson Export Ale, Molson Canadian, Molson Canadian Light, Molson Light, Molson Ice, Molson Exel non-alcohol brew, Molson Red Jack Ale, Foster’s Lager, Foster’s Special Bitter, Sheaf Stout, Presidente (from Ceveceria Nacional Dominicana, Santa Domingo, Dominican Republic), Shanghai (from Shanghai Foster’s Brewery Co. Ltd., Shanghai, People’s Republic of China)

 

PARENT COMPANY: US Tobacco

 

Wines:

Chateau Ste. Michelle, Columbia Crest, Domaine Ste. Michelle, Villa Mt. Eden, Conn Creek, Colour Volant

 

 

Beer:

Bert Grant’s Ale