SNOHOMISH COUNTY BANS OUTDOOR TOBACCO ADS

EVERETT - If colorful, creative images indeed sell strong messages, then
local children helped ban most outdoor cigarette advertising in Snohomish
County.

In an auditorium decorated with anti-smoking posters drawn by Everett
students, the Snohomish Health District board yesterday voted 13-0 to
outlaw tobacco billboards and all other outdoor, color cigarette ads
effective Jan. 1.

The board defeated the same proposal 7-6 eight months ago, after
small-store owners complained they'd lose money if forced to remove their
cigarette posters. But the board's membership has changed dramatically
since then, with nine new members.

The Snohomish regulation mirrors a Pierce County law, which was upheld by a
federal judge in November. And on Friday, King County's Board of Health is
expected to vote on a similar proposal.

King County already has banned most tobacco ads on billboards; yesterday's
action will affect about 200 billboards in Snohomish County.

Debates pit the interests of children, who studies show are especially
susceptible to cigarette ads, against the economic and free-speech rights
of small stores, which often attract customers by colorfully advertising
cigarette prices.

"I think it's a disgusting habit. But I also have a business to run,"
Katherine Wilson told the Health District board.

Yesterday, Wilson's small convenience store in Everett still flaunted its
tobacco products, with bright-red signs for two cigarette brands attached
to one wall and a neon sign plus several other posters decorating its
front. Even its grocery baskets, stored on the sidewalk, were adorned with
tobacco ads.

Wilson will suffer a double whammy because her store sits within 1,000 feet
of Everett High School. The new law will allow stores beyond that radius to
display black-and-white "tombstone" signs with brand and price information.

Snohomish County Councilman Gary Nelson, one of the Health District's 15
members, yesterday tried to appease store owners sharing Wilson's
predicament by offering an amendment to ban all tombstone signs, not just
those near schools, parks, bus stops and other places where children
congregate.

That proposal failed, 11-2, due to concerns about possible legal
challenges. The Pierce County law does not include a ban on tombstone ads.

Nelson is among only three members of the current board who voted against
the same proposal in November. The other two, Marysville City Councilwoman
Donna Pederson and Edmonds City Councilman John Nordquist, missed
yesterday's meeting.

Last night Nelson said he voted no the first time in part because the
Pierce County measure was awaiting a ruling in U.S. District Court.

Dr. Ward Hinds, the district's health officer, was pleased by the board's
turnabout. The community was much more vocal in its support for the
restrictions this time than in November, he said.

Of 23 people who testified yesterday, only four, all representing small
stores, opposed the new regulations.

Amy Brackenbury of the Washington Association of Neighborhood Stores told
the board that some Pierce County stores had a 10 percent drop in retail
sales after they took down the ads. When questioned by board members,
however, she said other Pierce County stores noticed no changes.

Tobacco companies pay stores "bonuses" ranging from $100 to $1,000 a year
for posting signs and offer deals that "can make the difference between
hiring an extra employee or not," Brackenbury said.

Supporters included the YMCA of Snohomish County, the American Heart
Association, the American Cancer Society, the American Lung Association,
Stevens Health Care, Washington Doctors Ought to Care and Healthy
Communities for Snohomish County.

But personal testimonials stole the show.

Cecilia McGrath, a church adminstrator, told the board her husband died
seven years ago from lung cancer. So did her dad.

"My cousins died, my friends have died, and many, many people in my life
have died, all from lung cancer," she said. "I believe that when you smoke
cigarettes, you are filling your coffin."

Emery Cadaback demonstrated his skill at esophageal speech, using a
tracheotomy performed after he lost his larynx to cancer.

"I am here because of my granddaughters, who have to grow up in this
society," he said.

Sara Jane Johnson was the only convenience-store owner to testify in favor
of the ban. Cigarettes account for 33 percent of her sales, she said,
compared with 30 percent for beer and pop combined.

Johnson said she displays minimal ads, yet cigarette sales have quadrupled
recently.

"My mother died from smoking, with a nicotine patch on her arm," said
Johnson, who owns a gas station and minimart across from Monroe High School.

"I'm in kind of a dilemma. I don't like smoking, but I need to sell
cigarettes. . . . When I hand cigarettes over the counter, I'm telling you
to go kill yourself."

Diane Brooks' phone message number is 425-745-7802. Her e-mail address is:
dbro-new@seatimes.com

Checked-by: Mike Gogulski