For Immediate Release
Contact: Angela Bradbery (202) 669-6517
Dec. 17, 2004
J.P. Szymkowicz (202) 607-5500
Arlington County Board Endorses Statewide Smokefree Workplace Law for Virginia
Arlington Action Underscores Popularity of Smokefree Workplace Laws
WASHINGTON, D.C. – The Arlington County Board’s unanimous endorsement this week of a statewide smokefree workplace law for Virginia underscores the popularity of such measures and will boost efforts to enact a similar law in the District.
On Thursday night, the Arlington board passed a resolution outlining the health harms of secondhand smoke and endorsing the enactment of comprehensive clean indoor air legislation for Virginia – including bars and restaurants. The resolution will be sent to Virginia’s governor and to the Virginia legislature as part of the county’s legislative package.
“The Arlington County Board should be commended for its endorsement of 100 percent smokefree workplace laws that cover all bar and restaurant employees in the Commonwealth of Virginia,” said J.P. Szymkowicz , a District attorney who is a member of Smokefree DC’s board. Szymkowicz, an Arlington resident, has been pressing the county board for nearly two years to act to protect workers from secondhand smoke. “I predict that other local jurisdictions in Virginia will follow Arlington County’s lead in supporting a 100 percent smokefree law for Virginia.”
Added Angela Bradbery, Smokefree DC president, “The fact that a county in the state where Philip Morris is headquartered took this action shows real political leadership. Going smokefree is a national trend. The District needs to get on board.”
Secondhand smoke causes lung cancer and heart disease, and is linked to asthma and bronchitis. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recently issued a warning to those at risk of heart disease that exposure to secondhand smoke for as little as 30 minutes can increase the risk of a heart attack.
Comprehensive smokefree workplace laws that include bars and restaurants are popular when passed. Seven states (California, Connecticut, Delaware, Maine, Massachusetts, Rhode Island and New York) and many localities throughout the country have passed smokefree workplace laws. Three countries also have passed smokefree workplace laws (Ireland, Sweden and Norway) and several others are considering it.
A poll taken last year showed that by a nearly two-to-one margin (60 percent to 35 percent), District voters would support a city law requiring all workplaces, including restaurants and bars, to be 100 percent smokefree. District voters also told pollsters that they would be more likely to visit both restaurants and bars if they were smokefree. Despite the contention of the tobacco industry, studies show that businesses do just as well – if not better – when smokefree workplace laws are enacted. ### Smokefree DC is a non-profit 504c(4) membership organization that believes all workers have the right to breathe clean air on the job.