Smokefree DC » smokefree

Questions about Wisconsin’s smokefree law?

Angela Bradbery — Mon, 21 Jun 2010 03:21:59 +0000

Wisconsin’s smokefree law takes effect July 5, and Smokefree Wisconsin has set up a website where people can submit questions.

Under the law, all indoor workplaces, including bars and restaurants, will be smokefree.

To minimize kids’ exposure to secondhand smoke, live in a smokefree community

Angela Bradbery — Tue, 15 Jun 2010 03:11:22 +0000

So you’d figure that if your kids are growing up in a non-smoking household, their exposure to secondhand smoke will be pretty minimal, right?

Think again. Researchers at the Harvard School of Public Health have found that children who are raised in smokefree homes and live in smokefree communities have less cotinine – a byproduct of cigarette smoke - in their blood kids who live in smokefree homes but live in communities without smokefree laws.

The children who lived in both smokefree homes and counties with smokefree laws had 39 percent less cotinine in their blood than their counterparts who lived in counties without smokefree laws.

AMA — the Australian one — calls for smokefree outdoor venues

Angela Bradbery — Wed, 31 Mar 2010 03:46:13 +0000

I must admit that when I ran across a news item on ABC online about the AMA calling for outdoor venues to be smokefree, I thought “Whoa! This is big news!”

Turns out it was the Australian Medical Association mentioned in an item on the Australian Broadcasting Company Web site. That AMA has called for major public venues to follow the lead of the Perth Zoo and be smokefree.

A check of the Australian Medical Association’s Web site finds a pretty strong position statement on tobacco and secondhand smoke:

Workers in bars and pubs have just as much right to a safe, smoke-free workplace as anyone else. The only way to protect workers’ health is to ban smoking in all workplaces. … There is no credible research to support the claim that total smoke bans in licensed venues will harm business and cause loss of jobs.

I checked the American Medical Association Web site and found fairly dated information with references about that association supporting state coalition efforts to reduce tobacco use.

So how about it, American Medical Association? Do you want to take a strong stand on smokefree air and follow your Australian counterpart?

Evans tries to weaken D.C.’s smokefree law

Angela Bradbery — Tue, 02 Mar 2010 16:51:32 +0000

D.C. Councilmember Jack Evans (Ward 2) has introduced “emergency” legislation being considered today that would permit groups to smoke cigars at certain events (he is a member of one group that wants to do this on St. Patrick’s Day).

The Examiner has a pretty comprehensive story on it.

We urge smokefree supporters to contact the Council at dccouncil@dccouncil.us and remind theml that the law is the law for very good reasons (worker and public health), and the Council should not bend it.

Granting exemptions not only would open the floodgates for others to seek similar exemptions, but would send a message that the Council does not take seriously the laws it passes. And of course, there would be health consequences for the workers at the events.

If you prefer to call the Council, contact information is at http://www.dccouncil.washington.dc.us/contactuscouncil .

New thirdhand smoke study underscores need for smokefree areas

Angela Bradbery — Wed, 24 Feb 2010 21:54:07 +0000

That funky smell that stays in a room where someone has been smoking earlier isn’t just a bad odor. It likely indicates the presence of carcinogens.

A new report about thirdhand smoke – the lingering residue of tobacco smoke – underscores the need for indoor areas to be 100 percent smokefree.

The study, done by the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, shows that residual nicotine from tobacco smoke adheres to surfaces and reacts with a chemical in the air to form cancer-causing chemicals.

The authors note that nonsmokers, particularly infants, are at risk through contact with surfaces and dust that has been contaminated with residual smoke gases and particles.

If you aren’t a scientist, you can check out a Science Daily news story about the study for an easier read about the study’s findings. Note that one of the study authors is quoted about how this research raises questions about the safety of electronic cigarettes, devices that contain a battery-powered vaporizer that turns nicotine into a mist.

Bottom line: This is yet another reason for comprehensive indoor smokefree policies.

Building owners soon will be able to post “no smoking” signs

Angela Bradbery — Tue, 05 Jan 2010 21:20:58 +0000

The D.C. Council today took a solid step toward firming up the city’s smokefree workplace law and ensuring that workers aren’t exposed to secondhand smoke on the job. In unanimously approving on first reading bill 18-428, the “Prohibition Against Selling Tobacco Products to Minors Amendment Act of 2009,” the Council clarified that building owners can post “no smoking” signs in front of their buildings.

It’s a simple and very basic measure that will greatly help those who suffer when tobacco smoke enters buildings. It’s not a ban – there is no enforcement in the new legislation. However, we hope that smokers will abide by the request and move down the street.

When smoke drifts inside buildings, the purpose of the smokefree workplace law – to protect all workers from the carcinogens in secondhand smoke – is violated. Smokefree DC has received quite a few calls from people, including a worker in a cardiologist’s office, reporting that smoke is a chronic problem. We hope this will be a fix.

One worrisome thing is an amendment offered by the restaurant association — and approved by the Council — designed to ensure that sidewalk cafes aren’t affected if neighboring buildings post no-smoking signs. We are a bit concerned it could be interpreted to mean sidewalk cafes can’t be smokefree if they wish. Councilmember Phil Mendelson assured us that wasn’t the case; we are still looking into it.

This provision is a lot weaker than it could have been – some jurisdictions prohibit smoking within a set number of feet from entranceways. Check out, for instance, Washington state’s provision.

The bill also will make it harder for minors to obtain tobacco – see the Washington Examiner’s write-up.

There is still one more hurdle ; the D.C. Council needs to vote on more time on the bill. That should be later this month or in February.

North Carolina goes smokefree

Angela Bradbery — Sun, 03 Jan 2010 16:31:09 +0000

Yes, even tobacco states can go smokefree. North Carolina, which produces about half the country’s tobacco, according to The Washington Post, went smokefree on Jan. 2. That includes bars as well as restaurants, making it a stronger law than Virginia’s (that state allows smoking in separately ventilated areas). (Note that many localities in Kentucky, also a major tobacco state, have smokefree bars and restaurants.)

Predictably, a North Carolina smoker interviewed by the Post complained about having his rights taken away. But, as Hugh Holliman, a member of the North Carolina legislature noted, no one’s right to smoke is touched by smokefree laws.

“This law doesn’t tell anybody they should’t smoke,” he said. “It’ saying non-smokers should have the same right to breathe clean air.”

Amen to that.