3 December 2003

Health Experts, Workers, Restaurant Owners, Residents Tell Committee to Protect All Workers from Secondhand Smoke

Groups Urge Schwartz to Call for Vote on Measure

WASHINGTON, D.C. – More than 80 people – including health experts, restaurant owners, District residents, workers, faith leaders and representatives of community organizations – today urged Councilmembers to protect all workers from secondhand smoke.

The supporters of smokefree workplace legislation testified at a hearing before the City Council’s Committee on Public Works and the Environment on the Smokefree Workplaces Act of 2003, a bill introduced in September and sponsored by Councilmembers Adrian Fenty (Ward 4), Kathy Patterson (Ward 3) and Phil Mendelson (At Large).

The measure would require all workplaces in the District, including bars and restaurants, to be 100 percent smokefree. Current District law is one of the worst in the country in terms of protecting workers from the toxins in secondhand smoke; it is legal to smoke in offices, health care facilities, day care facilities and more.

Many of those testifying spoke about the dangers of secondhand smoke, which has 4,000 chemicals, more than 50 of which are carcinogenic. Secondhand smoke causes lung cancer and heart disease, and has been linked to asthma and bronchitis. It is particularly dangerous for children. There is no safe level of exposure to secondhand smoke.

"Smokefree laws are not a fad," Former Surgeon General David Satcher told the Councilmembers. "They are the right thing to do in the interest of everyone’s health. We enforce speeding laws, drunk driving limits, and asbestos removal in office buildings and school classrooms, because they have a negative effect on someone’s health or well-being. A smoke-free law will do the same thing – it will save lives."

"We cannot wait for a law like this," added John Boardman, executive secretary-treasurer of the Hotel and Restaurant Employees No. 25. "We cannot wait to breathe clean air. We cannot wait to walk into our workplace in the morning, do our jobs, and then walk out at night not smelling like smoke. We cannot wait to have the chance to wait tables, serve drinks or greet our customers without having our eyes water, our throats burn, or our heads ache from the aftermath of secondhand smoke."

A counter proposal introduced Tuesday by Councilmember Carol Schwartz that would give tax breaks to bars and restaurants that voluntarily go smokefree would be wholly ineffective because it would not protect all workers from the toxins in secondhand smoke, many testifiers said. It would hurt the city financially, would not create a level playing field among businesses and would set a bad precedent of paying businesses to protect the health of workers and patrons.

Schwartz’s measure also doesn’t reflect the wishes of voters. Results of a poll released Tuesday show strong support among District residents for a comprehensive smokefree measure. By a nearly two-to-one margin, voters said they would support a city law requiring all workplaces, including bars and restaurants, to be 100 percent smokefree.

Among those testifying was Matt Pakardi, owner of the Afghan Grill in Woodley Park. "Not only does tobacco smoke interfere with people’s enjoyment of my food, but it presents a health hazard for my 10 employees," he said. "I do not want to put anyone’s health at risk, and people appreciate that. My workers enjoy the smokefree atmosphere, and my patrons are grateful for it."

Others testified that in places throughout the country that have gone smokefree, businesses have done just as well, if not better. In New York City, for instance, 1,500 bar and restaurant jobs were created in the months after the city went smokefree. California, which has had smokefree bars since 1998, saw alcohol sales increase in establishments that sell alcohol after that measure passed.

Also testifying were representatives from local chapters of the American Lung Association, the American Cancer Society, the American Heart Association, the March of Dimes, Friends of the Earth and the Sierra Club; the American Federation of Government Employees Union Local 383; and a variety of community organizations including the DC Medical Society, the DC Hospital Association, the Anacostia Coordinating Council, the Assembly of Petworth and the Assembly of ANCs.

Smokefree DC was started earlier this year by two District residents, Michael "Tac" Tacelosky and Angela Bradbery. They created a Web site, drew up a list of 100 percent smokefree restaurants, and began distributing decals to smokefree restaurants and gathering petition signatures from residents who support smokefree workplaces. Public health experts, faith leaders, community groups, workers and many others joined the effort, and momentum built for a comprehensive smokefree workplace law.

Many other cities and states have comprehensive smokefree workplace legislation, including New York City, Boston, New York State, California, Delaware, Maine, Connecticut, Albuquerque and Lexington (Ky.).