Smokefree DC is a citizen-based group whose goal is to promote smokefree environments in Washington, DC.
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By Angela Bradbery, on November 15, 2012
 flickr photo courtesy of ryan gregor Great news today: Both American University and George Washington University are going smokefree in 2013. American University also will go tobacco-free, meaning there will be no tobacco products on campus.
We could say “it’s about time,” but we’re just thrilled that the school administrators recognized the dangers of secondhand smoke and took action. Colleges throughout the country are ditching tobacco; 825 are smokefree, according to Americans for Nonsmokers’ Rights . Towson University went smokefree in 2010; the University of Maryland recently announced it would be smokefree in 2013. The University of the District of Columbia also is smokefree.
In March 2011, Smokefree DC wrote to all area colleges and urged them to go smokefree. We’re still waiting to hear from Catholic University, Howard University, Gallaudet University and Georgetown University. Hey administrators: When are you going smokefree?
By Angela Bradbery, on October 30, 2012
 flickr photo courtesy of kristib2pea The final questionnaires are in.
Of the candidates who responded, two rose to the top: David Grosso, who is running at large and received an “A,” and Council Member Phil Mendelson, who is running for Council chair and received a “B.”
The remaining candidates who answered the questionnaire primarily got Ds and Fs. We asked about everything from candidates’ willingness to support smokefree parks to how they would handle a query from a constituent grappling with secondhand smoke intrusion in their home.
To the candidates who spent time answering these questions, we appreciate your willingness to help us let voters know where you stand on a key health issue.
Secondhand smoke is a known health hazard. Although we have a strong smokefree workplace law here in the District, nonsmokers are still exposed to secondhand smoke every day.
The seven questions were designed to test candidates’ knowledge of tobacco issues as well as their commitment to the rights of nonsmokers to breathe clean air.
Here’s how the candidates stacked up. If a candidate is not listed, it means he or she did not respond. The candidates’ answers are linked to their names:
Council Chair – Calvin Gurley: F. Phil Mendelson: B
At-large – David Grosso: A. Leon Swain Jr.: F. Michael A. Brown: F. A.J. Cooper: D
Ward 2 – Jack Evans: F
Ward 4 – Muriel Bowser: F
By Angela Bradbery, on October 10, 2012
 flickr photo courtesy of lanier67 Look around next time you ride a Metro bus or train. The person next to you may have asthma or be allergic to cigarette smoke. Judging from the comments on a recently launched Change.org petition calling on WMATA to enforce its no-smoking policy, there are quite a few Metro passengers who suffer health problems when they encounter secondhand smoke.
WMATA has a no-smoking policy within its system, but you wouldn’t know it by riding the rails or buses. There is a stunning absence of “no smoking” signs.
People from Maryland, Virginia, West Virginia, Maine, Arizona and elsewhere have signed the petition. Here are some of their comments. If you haven’t signed, please do. Then tell your friends.
It’s too bad we have to resort to enforcement, but it’s also too bad we have to resort to petition to get that enforcement.
Tobacco smoke and tobacco litter should be prohibited within at least 100 feet of bus stations and WMATA escalators. NO SMOKING signage is needed. Most people comply when signs are clearly posted. This will clear the air and reduce tobacco litter.
Your right to smoke ends where my nostrils begin!
I am alergic to smoke so violations of the no smoking policy make my rides miserable. And then I get a sinus headache.
I am extremely allergic to tobacco smoke and the trip up escalators often is enough to set off spasms with resulting bronchial infections. I need Metro to keep its word to its passengers.
I have asthma and cannot tolerate secondhand tobacco smoke. The direct cause of my asthma us due to secondhand tobacco smoke exposure as a cild of two smokers.
It’s needed and the right thing to do to protect everyone’s health.
By Angela Bradbery, on October 1, 2012
 Flickr photo courtesy of brownpau Jamie Berke got one whiff too many of secondhand smoke while on the Washington, D.C., Metro system.
So she decided to act. She has launched a petition to protect Metro bus and train passengers from the toxins.
Secondhand smoke causes lung cancer and heart disease, and aggravates respiratory illnesses. The U.S. Surgeon General has determined that there is no safe level of exposure to secondhand smoke.
A recent study showed that people in outdoor bars and restaurants can suffer the same harm from secondhand smoke as those exposed to it inside.
The petition says:
We call on WMATA to actively enforce its existing policy by: 1) Installing “No Smoking” signs at all station entrances, escalators, passageways, and outdoor train and bus platforms throughout the Metro system; 2) removing all ashtrays from the system or at least moving them farther away from entrances and exits; and 3) installing “No Smoking within 25 feet” signs at all station exits and bus shelters. WMATA should also work together with local and state jurisdictions to strengthen and enforce policies to protect Metro riders from dangerous secondhand smoke within 25 feet of Metro facilities.
Click here to sign the petition.
By Angela Bradbery, on September 12, 2012
More colleges are going smokefree every year. The latest are the University of Oklahoma, the University of Oregon and Montana State University. The University of California system’s campuses will be tobacco-free (no smoking, no chewing, no selling) by 2014, USA Today reports.
In all, 774 college campuses around the country are smokefree, and 562 are tobacco-free (meaning no form of tobacco may be used). Even the Obama administration is making a push for tobacco-free campuses.
So what about the D.C. area? Towson University went smokefree a while ago. The University of Maryland recently announced it will do the same. Others? Not so much. Students who pushed to make American University smokefree ran into a brick wall of an administration. Letters Smokefree DC sent to other area campuses went unanswered.
School administrators can ignore this issue only for so long. It is undisputed that secondhand smoke is a health hazard. According to the U.S. Surgeon General, there is no safe level of exposure to secondhand smoke. It contains more than 4,000 chemicals, 69 of which are known or suspected carcinogens, such as arsenic and benzene. Secondhand smoke causes lung cancer and heart disease in nonsmokers, and exacerbates respiratory illnesses.
By making a campus tobacco-free, schools would dramatically reduce student and faculty exposure to secondhand smoke. it would have the added benefit of saving many students from ever becoming addicted to tobacco. That translates into less illness and suffering down the road.
I wonder what the leaders of Georgetown University, George Washington University, Catholic University and American University would say to that.
By Angela Bradbery, on August 14, 2012
Here’s some compelling evidence in support of making outdoor bars and restaurants smokefree: A new study shows that people who are exposed to secondhand smoke at outdoor bars and restaurants can suffer the same kinds of health effects as people exposed inside.
In the study, published in Environmental Health Perspectives, researchers collected urine and saliva samples from people who spent several hours outside bars and restaurants, where smoking was allowed. Those samples were compared to those from people who spent time outdoors at a smokefree establishment.
The people who breathed secondhand smoke for three hours still had a nicotine byproduct in their blood the morning after they were exposed to the secondhand smoke. As we all know, secondhand smoke has more than 4,000 chemicals, including dozens of carcinogens.
Smokefree outdoor patios, anyone?
By Angela Bradbery, on July 17, 2012
Good news: The University of Maryland is following the lead of colleges around the country by making its entire campus smokefree, The Washington Post reports.
This is common sense. Secondhand smoke is carcinogenic and poses dangers to nonsmokers. We hear many complaints from people who resent having to suck up a lot of smoke as they enter and exit buildings.
Towson University has been smokefree since 2010. And guess what? The school is still standing!
Smokefree DC and the Center for Tobacco Regulation at the University of Maryland last year urged colleges throughout the area to go smokfree.
The only bad news is that the University of Maryland is taking a long time to make the switch: June 30, 2013, is the deadline.
By admin, on June 7, 2012
 Flickr photo by Andrew Bossie
By Bob Summersgill, Smokefree DC board member
D.C. Council Chairman Kwame Brown resigned yesterday in disgrace, after the U.S. Attorney filed felony bank fraud charges against him. I’m angry about the fraud. I am angry that he was ever on the Council. I am angry that he lied to us. He disgraced the Council and the District.
Kwame Brown claims to be a strong advocate for smokefree work places in D.C. He voted in favor of the smokefree workplace law when it passed the Council in December 2005 and January 2006. Back then, Smokefree DC supported him. However, his only votes on the law in the past few years have been to carve out exemptions for special groups and friends of councilmembers.
In June 2012, the “Special Event Exemption Amendment Act of 2011″ was added the Fiscal Year 2012 Budget Support Act of 2011 (BSA) to allow in-door cigar parties, once a year, at every hotel in the District. There were 79 hotels at the time, but more hotels are being built downtown and near the convention center. This exemption was pushed by Councilmembers Jack Evans and Michael A. Brown, but it could not have been slipped into the BSA without Kwame Brown’s approval. The amendment was not sent through the usual committee process because as Jack Evans told us, “If it went through committee, you would win!”
Instead it was slipped into the BSA without notice to anyone. Fortunately, smokefree advocate Councilmember Phil Mendelson found the exemption and attempted to remove it. He lost 12-1. Kwame Brown said he thought it was a limited exemption. He either both knew and didn’t care, or didn’t read it and believed Michael Brown and Jack Evans. Or it could be that he is just dim as several councilmembers have said.
Continue reading Kwame Brown resigned: good riddance
By Angela Bradbery, on April 24, 2012
Flickr photo courtesy of kristib2pea Candidates for the Ward 5 Council seat received grades ranging from “A” to “F” after filling out a Smokefree DC questionnaire that asked about everything from their willingness to support smokefree parks to how they would handle a query from a constituent grappling with secondhand smoke intrusion in their home.
Seven Council candidates completed the seven-item questionnaire. The election for the open seat will be held on May 15. Just one candidate, Kathy Henderson, received an “A.”
The seven questions were designed to test candidates’ knowledge of tobacco issues as well as their commitment to the rights of nonsmokers to breathe clean air.
We greatly appreciate the time that candidates spent to answer these questions. We are releasing these candidates’ answers so voters can learn where the candidates stand on a key health issue. Although the District has a strong smokefree workplace law, nonsmokers are still exposed to the toxins in secondhand smoke every day.
Candidates were graded on “A” to “F” scale, with “A” being the highest rating and “F” being the lowest. Candidates who did not return a questionnaire were given a “0” rating.
The grades were: Kathy Henderson – A; Drew E. Hubbard – B; Ruth Marshall – C; Kenyan McDuffie – D; Tim Day – D; Rae Zapata – D; Shelly Gardner – F.
All other candidates running in the primary received zeros because they did not return their questionnaires. To view the candidates’ answers, visit
http://www.smokefreedc.org/molisa/app.php/en/survey/questions/71416/38.
By Angela Bradbery, on April 18, 2012
What a great idea.
New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg is proposing that all apartments and condos in the city be required to come up with a policy on smoking and make it clear to prospective buyers and tenants.
He stresses that this is not, we repeat not, a ban.
What would this law do? It would require apartment managers and condo boards to think about smoking, the hazards of secondhand smoke and the sticky issues that arise when one resident’s smoke invades another resident’s apartment. It would make clear where in the building people could and couldn’t smoke. And it would help people make informed decisions about where they want to live. After all, most people don’t smoke and don’t like breathing secondhand smoke.
As the Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids noted:
Residents deserve to know whether they will be subject to these serious health risks before deciding whether to buy or rent a home. This legislation is an important complement to laws requiring smoke-free workplaces and public places and will further protect everyone’s right to breathe clean air.
Who knows, it might even prompt some condos and apartments to go smokefree.
Speaking of which, we are going to start a list of smokefree apartments and condos in the District. Know of any? Let us know.
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