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Why ban smoking in restaurants and other workplaces? - There is no risk-free level of exposure to secondhand smoke. - Even brief secondhand smoke exposure has immediate adverse health effects. - Nonsmokers exposed to second to secondhand smoke at home or work increased their risk of developing herat disesase by 25-30 percent and lung cancer by 20-30 percent. - Even the most sophisticated ventilation systems cannot completely eliminate secondhand smoke exposure and that only smoke-free environments afford full protection. Source – U.S Surgeon general - About 3,000 non-smokers die annually from lung cancer caused by secondhand smoke. - 35,000 non-smokers die annually from heart disease caused by secondhand smoke. Source – United
States Dept. of Health and Human Services - Secondhand smoke is a Group A carcinogen because it is a known cause of lung cancer in humans and contains 4,000 chemicals including known poisons such as formaldehyde, benzene, and hydrogen cyanide. - Workers have been awarded
unemployment, disability and worker’s compensation benefits
for illness due to exposure to secondhand smoke. Source – American Lung Association - Bar and restaurant workers are 11/2 times more likely to die of lung cancer than they would be if bars and restaurants were 100 percent smoke-free. - Bars and restaurants workers have the highest prevalence of smoking-related lung cancer. - Eight hours of working in a smoky bar is equivalent to smoking a pack of cigarettes a day. Source – American Cancer Society - Smoke-filled casinos have up to 50 times more cancer-causing particles in the air than highways and city streets clogged with diesel trucks in rush hour traffic. Source: Americans for Non-Smokers' Rights - Workers in gambling venues are often exposed to higher levels of secondhand smoke. Source: Tobacco Control Legal Consortium, "Secondhand Smoke & Casinos" (2007) - In 2008, 85% of casino patrons surveyed said they preferred a non-smoking environment. Source: J.D. Power, 2008 - Nonsmokers regularly exposed to 30 minutes of secondhand smoke suffer death rates 30 percent higher than that of unexposed nonsmokers. - A half hour of exposure to secondhand smoke dramatically increases a person’s short-term risk of heart attack. Source – American Cancer Society - No properly conducted study shows a negative economic impact. Some even show that a smoke-free measure improves business. - As evidence mounts about the dangers of secondhand smoke, so does the legal liability of employers—including restaurants. - In addition, here’s what restaurant owners pay out of pocket by allowing smoking in their establishments: - Higher maintenance expenses
(carpets, drapes, cloths, paintwork). Source – University of California - Ventilation systems that cost tens of thousands of dollars may reduce odor, but fail to guard against secondhand smoke's real health dangers. - The tobacco industry and the HVAC industry have been advised by their attorneys that making any health claims about ventilation exposes them to litigation. - There is no safe level of secondhand smoke; no feasible ventilation system can control the health risk from secondhand smoke. Source – University of California - The toxic particles that remain after visible smoke is gone, otherwise known as third-hand smoke, embed themselves in furniture, carpeting, and objects around them and pose an especially great risk to children and infants for cancer and may affect brain development. Source: Journal of Pediatrics, Massachusetts General Hospital for Children, Boston - A smoke-free air law in michigan could lower hospital admissions for heart attacks by up to 3,340 admissions annually. Source: November 2008 Henry Ford Hospital Study - There was a 41% drop in those hospitalized in Pueblo, Colorado three years after smoke-free laws were enacted. Source: Centers for Disease Control |
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