NC GASP INC. is a statewide non-profit educational corporation with 501(c)(3) tax exempt status (This means money donated to GASP is tax-deductable). Our purpose is to protect nonsmokers from the health risks posed by secondhand smoke and support the rights of non-smokers.
We believe that smoking is a privilege, not a right. Anyone exposed to cigarette smoke is forced to become a passive smoker through second-hand smoke. Non-smokers have the right to clean air, without the harmful effects of tobacco smoke.
According to a recent study by the American Lung Assocation, 70% of all people who smoke would like to stop. If the minority of adults, who despite all the warnings and risks, want to smoke, it is their right, as long as they do not intrude on the non-smokers. An intrusion is something like smoking in a small, poorly venilated restauraunt, or smoking in the non-smoking section.
However, approximently 90% of all smokers start before the age of 21. We do not want our children exposed to the constant barrage of direct and indirect advertising of the tobacco industry. As non-smokers we are fed up with subsidizing the tobacco industry. In North Carolina, cigarettes are the cheapest in the world, we have one of the lowest excise taxes on cigarettes in the country (5 cents/pack), and yet we have one of the largest sales tax rates on food (6%). Cigarettes should cost 4 to 5 times more than they do now to reflect the state's medical costs for indigent smokers.
Volunteer - If you live in North Carolina, specifically near Asheville, contact us and let us know how much time you can devote to GASP each month. Remember, every little bit helps, and you may have a unique talent that will help us win the fight against the tobacco companies. If you live out of state, hunt around and find a local organization you can get involved in.
Become a Member -Take the next step, become a member. Membership is only $15 / year, which includes our newsletter.
Donate some $$$- We are a grassroots organization consisting of only volunteers. There is no paid staff and 100% of your donation goes to work. We do not spend $ on fund raising, and as a result do as much as possible on a limited budget.
Write to the editor of your local newspaper, let the ignorant know the truth about tobacco. In North Carolina, some consider it something paramount to a cardinal sin to speak and write against tobacco and smoking. At GASP, we believe that the truth should be told.
Contact your State Representative, Senators, Congressman, The President of the United States of America, etc.- let them know how you feel about tobacco and other issues you care about (Such as the controversial Tel-Com Bill)
Remember the story of a crowd of people standing around after an automobile accident? Each person thought to themselves "Why doesn't someone do something?" The individual in the accident died when they might have been saved because of the inaction of the observer. Don't be a bystander in the issue of Tobacco: Do something, whether it be volunteering, writing a letter to your congressman, quitting smoking, or donating money to the people who are already fighting.
Start now by sending mail to SPratt@buncombe.main.nc.us with suggestions, comments, information, questions or whatever else you think might be useful to our cause.