American Cancer Society donates nearly $25,000 to Smoke-Free Cape

The American Cancer Society has given its second sizable campaign contribution to Citizens for a Smoke-Free Cape -- nearly $25,000 in cash -- to convince Cape Girardeau residents on April 5 to vote in favor of a citywide smoking ban.

The campaign report filed Wednesday with the Missouri Ethics Commission lists the origin of the $24,750 donation as the society's Oklahoma City office. But the society said Thursday that the donation actually is from its High Plains Division, which is made up of Missouri, Kansas, Oklahoma, Nebraska and Hawaii.

Oklahoma City is the division's processing center, where all its checks are cut, said American Cancer Society spokeswoman Carrie Reynolds.

That doesn't change the fact that the money is not from Cape Girardeau donors, opponents said Thursday, which they believe bolsters their argument that the effort to implement a smoking ban here is not entirely a local, grassroots campaign.

"Unbelievable," said Doc Cain, spokesman for Stand Up Cape, What's Next?, the group working to defeat the ban. "That just goes to show you this is not a local initiative. That's what we've been saying all along."

In January, Smoke-Free Cape reported a $10,000 in-kind donation from the American Cancer Society, but that report listed the society's Cape Girardeau office address on Farrar Drive. The largest donation to date for Stand Up Cape is $700, Cain said.

A portion of Smoke-Free Cape's expenditures will be used to pay for television ads and mailings that started this week, said group spokeswoman Sheri House. Smoke-Free Cape will make all of its expenditures public in a report to the state ethics commission that is due Monday, eight days before the election, said House, who also works for the American Cancer Society. The report filed Wednesday was to meet a state requirement that any donation larger than $5,000 from a single donor be reported within 48 hours.

The group's only other comment came in a written statement.

"Every dollar we spend is to help prevent that suffering and loss of life. We are fighting for the people of Cape Girardeau's right to breathe smoke-free indoor air," the statement said.

The smoking ban, as proposed, would prohibit smoking in all public workplaces, including restaurants, bars, casinos and private clubs. On Saturday, representatives of both sides will square off in a debate at 1 p.m. at Capaha Park's Shelter No. 1.

Stand Up Cape maintains that the ban is too restrictive, would hurt business and removes consumer choice of where to use a legal product.

"It's not a health issue," Cain said. "This is all about people who cannot stand smoking. But this is something we don't need. We don't have big donations like they do, but whatever we do have we're going to leverage to get our message out there, too."

While Cain wondered if the American Cancer Society shouldn't be putting its resources to better use, the society said even slight changes in policy can affect the fight against cancer. Bridgett Myers, regional vice president of the American Cancer Society's Southern Missouri Region, said smoke-free laws are an effective way to improve health because they reduce exposure to secondhand smoke.

She said the society's support of the ballot measure is a "direct investment in the Cape Girardeau community to improve everyone's health and reduce incidents of cancer."

In addition to the Saturday event at Capaha Park, the issue will also be debated at a League of Women Voters event at 7 p.m. Tuesday at the Show Me Center.

smoyers@semissourian.com

388-3642

Pertinent address:

106 Farrar Drive, Cape Girardeau, MO