In 1974
a group of citizens, whose personal experiences convinced
them that smoking harms nonsmokers too, founded New Jersey
GASP, the Group Against Smoking Pollution. Since then, more
than a quarter of a century ago, New Jersey GASP has been
dedicated entirely to tobacco control. Now one of the world's
oldest and most successful citizen nonsmokers' organizations,
New Jersey GASP is recognized internationally as a pioneer
in the smokefree advocacy movement.
The
Tobacco Control Policy and Legal Resource Center of New
Jersey GASP provides information and counsel to hundreds
of legislators, policy makers, and citizens each year. The
need for this service became clear in 1990 when East Brunswick
passed a cigarette vending machine ban. The Township Council
insisted that an addictive, cancer-causing product, illegal
to sell to children, should not be dispensed like chewing
gum and snack crackers. In response, the tobacco industry
challenged East Brunswick in court. Every other town that
passed an ordinance to control tobacco sales to minors was
also hit with a lawsuit. For New Jersey towns, struggling
to pay their school teachers and police, the threat of a
battle with the legal might of the tobacco industry was
chilling.
That
was the beginning of a fight that went all the way to the
New Jersey Supreme Court, where, in 1994, East Brunswick
prevailed. New Jersey GASP was an integral part of that
progress, providing information, expert testimony, and public
support. New Jersey GASP petitioned the court and was allowed
to submit an amicus curiae brief defending East Brunswick.
Since
then, New Jersey GASP has assisted hundreds of municipalities;
ordinances controlling tobacco sales to minors have been
passed in more than 200 communities, sometimes at the rate
of two a week. A number of towns have enacted restrictions
on tobacco marketing and more than 100 have enacted restrictions
on tobacco use, with a 
number
of towns eliminating smoking in workplaces or restaurants.
New Jersey GASP's attorney is recognized nationwide as an
expert on this issue and New Jersey GASP is the only organization
in the state and one of only a few in the nation to provide
legal assistance for tobacco-control activities.
Among
many successes:
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New Jersey GASP participated in obtaining the first court
injunction banning smoking at work (Shimp vs. NJ Bell,
1976).
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New Jersey GASP has helped several hundred New Jersey
municipalities enact ordinances controlling tobacco.
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New Jersey GASP helps New Jersey municipalities defend
their tobacco-control ordinances.
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New Jersey GASP helped pass more than a dozen statewide
smokefree air laws in New Jersey since the early 1970s.
New Jersey was a leader in statewide clean indoor air
legislation largely because of New Jersey GASP's activities.
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New Jersey GASP petitioned the New Jersey State Department
of Health to require hospitals to be entirely smokefree.
This was the first such rule in the nation.
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New Jersey GASP actively lobbied for the federal airline-
smoking ban. New Jersey GASP was cited in the Congressional
Record and invited to join Senator Lautenberg in a press
conference at Newark Airport when the new legislation
went into effect.
