|
|
 |
Below are the answers to some frequently asked questions about secondhand smoke. If you have questions about this issue, please contact us and we would be glad to provide more information.
|
How serious is this problem?
Tobacco use is the leading preventable cause of death in North Dakota, and nonsmokers' exposure to toxic secondhand smoke can also be deadly. The Surgeon General reports that there is no safe level of secondhand smoke exposure. - Even 30 minutes in a smoke-filled room raises the risk of heart disease.
- Eliminating exposure to secondhand smoke in public places reduces heart attack hospitalizations by 41 percent.
- Children who breathe secondhand smoke are more likely to suffer from pneumonia, bronchitis, wheezing and coughing spells, ear infections, and more frequent and severe asthma attacks.
- Smoking and secondhand smoke increase the risk of heartbreaking SIDS deaths. They are also linked to miscarriage, preterm births and all the health concerns and costs that accompany premature babies.
|
What are the risks?
While the many toxic chemicals in smoke cause a wide range of health problems, it boils down to a simple equation: secondhand smoke causes illness and death. Nonsmokers exposed to secondhand smoke are more likely to become sick and die from heart disease and lung cancer. The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has issued an advisory warning all people with a heart condition or those predisposed to heart disease to avoid all indoor environments where smoking
is allowed.
|
Can't we just have smoking and no-smoking sections?
Smoke doesn’t stop at a “No Smoking Section” sign. It doesn’t even stay in a separate room. Heating, air conditioning and ventilation systems carry smoke throughout a building. The American Society of Heating, Refrigerating and Air-Conditioning Engineers has studied the issue and concluded that ventilation systems cannot remove secondhand smoke from indoor environments.
In businesses that permit smoking, whether in a separate section or throughout the building, workers such as bartenders, waiters and waitresses are required to serve patrons in smoking areas, exposing these workers to secondhand smoke. There is no safe level of exposure. All exposure is harmful.
On the other hand, implementing a comprehensive smoke-free policy is very effective at eliminating the toxins in secondhand smoke. A recent study of air pollution in Fargo bars showed a 98% drop in air pollution after the cities bars became smoke-free.
|
Aren’t smoke-free workplaces harmful to the hospitality industry?
The evidence is clear that smoke-free laws protect health without harming business. Dozens of studies and hard economic data have shown that state, county, and city smoke-free laws don’t harm restaurant and bar sales or employment levels, and can have a positive impact.
A recent study on the Bismarck city ordinance passed in October 2005 which applied strong smoking restrictions for restaurant/bar establishments shows consistently increasing sales in those establishments over the past five years. The smoking statute had no discernable impact on overall restaurant-bar revenue.
The year after New York City’s smoke-free law took effect in 2003, business receipts for restaurants and bars increased, employment rose and the number of liquor licenses increased.
Additional studies in California, Florida and Texas have shown that making bars and restaurants smoke-free is not harmful to the hospitality industry. In study after study, revenues and employment either stayed the same or increased after the enactment of smoke-free laws for bars and restaurants.
|
Does going smoke-free affect employee turnover?
A study published in May of 2008 showed that enactment of smoke-free policies and laws have no negative effect on employee turnover. More details are available at the website of the Substance Abuse Policy Research Program.
|
Is there public support for smoke-free environments?
The levels of public support for smoke-free workplaces have been steadily increasing over the years. The “2006 Secondhand Smoke Study of North Dakota” shows that approximately two out of three (65.6 percent) North Dakotans support expanding the current state law to make all workplaces smoke-free, including all bars and lounges.
In Minnesota, 76 percent of residents support the state’s recent Freedom to Breathe Act, which made all bars and restaurants smoke-free. The act has become a point of pride for many Minnesotans. The state recently posted a billboard on Highway 10 that states, “With our new smoke-free law, the air is cleaner here.”
Fargo is leading the state of North Dakota as the first city to have a comprehensive smoke-free policy. This has been a successful policy that has included public support and scientific evidence of its improvement of air quality.
|
Do smoke-free workplaces affect smoking habits?
Yes, particularly among young people. Smoke-free workplaces can keep young people from becoming smokers. Every year, about 1,400 young people in North Dakota become daily smokers. A full ban could reduce that number. A Massachusetts study suggests that restaurant smoking bans may play a big role in persuading teens not to become smokers. Youths who lived in towns with strict bans were 40 percent less likely to become regular smokers than those in communities with no bans or weak laws.
|
|
|
