quote:

What he found bothered him. Many of the cities passing anti-smoking ordinances, for instance, are university towns. Key members of the coalitions pushing for the new laws are university employees who have access to grants to fund anti-smoking efforts. Such is the case in Boone County, where the MU Wellness Center is a coalition partner. In fact, the coalition adopted the university’s "Breathe-Easy" logo when it formed.

"I’m seeing a pattern. The cities passing these ordinances have large universities. The universities are getting the grants to do this," Nielson says. "It’s crossed over the line when you’re using all these public resources to influence public policy."