Policy Statement:  12/06/06 Reduce Exposure to Secondhand Smoke In Worksites and Public Places	Printable Version (PDF)

Position

The South Dakota Tobacco-Free Kids Network supports policy initiatives that will reduce exposure to secondhand smoke, including the passage of laws and ordinances that increase the number of smoke-free worksites and public places.  All citizens, employees, and especially children and those suffering from chronic diseases have a right to worksites and public places that are free from the hazards of tobacco smoke. 

Background

Clean indoor air laws prevent and reduce tobacco use.

One of the most effective ways to reduce the use of tobacco products, prevent children from starting to use tobacco products and reduce exposure to secondhand smoke is through the passage of state laws and local ordinances that increase the number of smoke-free worksites and public places.  Enacting clean indoor air measures, combined with increasing the price of tobacco products and implementing a statewide comprehensive tobacco program has resulted in measurable declines in tobacco use in other states.

Secondhand smoke is a known public health hazard.

·         In 2006, the Surgeon General released a report declaring that the scientific evidence on the health risks associated with secondhand smoke is massive and conclusive - there is no longer any debate.  The report confirmed that no level of secondhand smoke is safe and concluded the only way to protect people is to eliminate their exposure.

·         Tobacco smoke contains 69 known or probable cancer-causing chemicals and has been classified as a Group A Carcinogen.   No safe levels of exposure have been established for Group A toxins.[i]

·         Exposure to secondhand smoke causes serious health problems in children and adults.  It has been linked to lung and nasal sinus cancer, heart disease, Sudden Infant Death Syndrome (SIDS), asthma, bronchitis and pneumonia, chronic respiratory symptoms, and low birth weight.[ii]

·         Secondhand smoke is the third leading cause of preventable death in the United States behind active smoking and alcohol use.  The dangers of secondhand smoke exposure are well established – each year secondhand smoke causes 3,000 deaths from lung cancer, up to 62,000 deaths from heart disease, and permanent injury to countless others.[iii] 

·         The Environmental Protection Agency estimates that 150,000 to 300,000 cases of lower respiratory tract infections such as bronchitis and pneumonia in infants and young children are attributable to exposure to secondhand smoke annually.[iv]

·         Nearly 88% of non-smokers have significant daily exposure to secondhand smoke.[v]

South Dakota’s Clean Indoor Air Law, passed in 2002, was a good first step towards protecting workers from the hazards of secondhand smoke, but worksite hazards still remain for hospitality workers throughout the state because of exemptions in the law that permit indoor smoking in some restaurants and other worksites.

·         Secondhand smoke has become an occupational hazard for many workers, including casino, restaurant, bar, and hotel employees.  Although 76 percent of white-collar workers are covered by smoke-free policies, just 52 percent of blue-collar workers and 43 percent of food service workers benefit from these protections.[vi]

·         Employees of restaurants and bars are at much greater risk for lung and heart disease as a result of increased exposure to secondhand smoke.  Secondhand smoke exposure is         1.6 – 2.0 times higher in restaurants than in office workplaces and 4 – 6 times higher in bars.[vii] 

·         Food service workers have a 50 percent greater risk than the general public of dying from lung cancer, in part because of their continuous exposure to secondhand smoke in the workplace.[viii]

Secondhand smoke restrictions benefit the bottom line and do not harm business.

·         A 2003 study published in the journal Tobacco Control offered a comprehensive review of all available studies on the economic impact of smoke-free workplaces laws and concluded that: “All of the best designed studies report no impact or a positive impact of smoke-free restaurants and bar laws on sales or employment. Policymakers can act to protect workers and patrons from the toxins in secondhand smoke confident in rejecting industry claims that there will be an adverse economic impact.”[ix]

·         South Dakota Department of Revenue data comparing gross sales revenue before and after the passage of South Dakota’s Clean Indoor Air Law in 2002 indicate that gross sales revenue has not declined since the law was implemented[x]

·         A study conducted by Minot State University showed that Minot, North Dakota’s clean air law did not damage business.[xi]

·         The social costs of secondhand smoke are substantial.  In 2005, the estimated economic value of lost wages, fringe benefits, and services associated with secondhand smoke exposure amounted to $4.7 billion per year nationwide.[xii]

·         Smoke-free policies are associated with reduced cigarette consumption.[xiii]^{, [xiv]}  Policies that encourage smokers to quit or to cut back their tobacco consumption ultimately save employers money.

·         Employers that allow workplace smoking pay increased health, life, and fire insurance premiums, make higher workers’ compensation payments, incur higher worker absenteeism, incur higher housekeeping and maintenance costs, and settle for lower work productivity.

·          

Mandatory action will accelerate a change throughout the state.

State laws and local ordinances create a permanent change that is superior to voluntary policies, which are difficult to enforce, and may change with ownership.  Many business owners support mandatory action, because it would treat all businesses the same and alleviates any perceived market disadvantage.

South Dakotans support clean indoor air regulations.

A broad majority of South Dakotans supports regulations that would reduce exposure to secondhand smoke in worksites and public places, including such places as restaurants, schools and school activities, indoor work areas, public meeting and convention halls.[xv]

What the tobacco industry says privately:

·          “If smokers can’t smoke on the way to work, at work, in stores, banks, restaurants, malls and other public places, they are going to smoke less.  Overall cigarette purchases will be reduced and volume decline will accelerate.”[xvi] 

·         "… the economic arguments [smoke-free restrictions harm business] often used by the industry to scare off smoking ban activity were no longer working, if indeed they ever did. These arguments simply had no credibility with the public, which isn't surprising when you consider that our dire predictions in the past rarely came true."[xvii]

Ventilation is not a solution to the problem of secondhand smoke.

While the tobacco industry presents ventilation as a “solution” to the problems of secondhand smoke and urges companies to spend tens of thousands of dollars on complex systems that don’t solve the problem, even the manufacturers of these systems admit that they do not protect persons from the health effects of secondhand smoke.  In June 2005, the American Society of Heating, Refrigerating and Air-Conditioning Engineers (ASHRAE), the national and international standard setting body for indoor air quality, adopted a position document that stated the only way to effectively eliminate health risks associated with indoor exposure to secondhand smoke is to ban smoking activity.[xviii] 

South Dakota Tobacco-Free Kids Network, 12/06/06