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March 27, 2006
They’re Listening....
For years, we’ve been asking state and local governments to protect the lung health of our citizens, and now according to our recently published report, State Legislated Actions on Tobacco Issues (SLATI), we’re seeing a growing trend amongst states to make almost all public places and workplaces smokefree. In addition, states are raising tobacco taxes, essential in the fight to prevent our youth from starting to smoke, an addiction that for many, is more difficult to break than an addiction to heroin.
Earlier this year we issued the American Lung Association Smokefree Air 2010 Challenge, urging policymakers to adopt strong smokefree air laws. Why is it so important that we rid our work environments and other public places of secondhand smoke?
Here are some facts:
- Secondhand smoke has been classified by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) as a known cause of cancer in humans.
- Secondhand smoke causes approximately 3,000 lung cancer deaths and 35,000 – 62,000 heart disease deaths in adult nonsmokers in the United States each year.
- Secondhand smoke is especially harmful to children, and can even be fatal. Secondhand smoke causes 1,900 to 2,700 deaths from sudden infant death syndrome (SIDS) in the United States each year.
So as you see, secondhand smoke is not just a nuisance, it’s a potential killer. I invite you to read more of these alarming statistics by clicking here.
Click here for the SLATI report to see the latest on tobacco control laws in your state. In addition you might want to check out your state’s grades on tobacco control laws in the American Lung Association State of Tobacco Control 2005 report, released in January.
Thanks to a combined effort of many concerned Americans, millions of us are now able to enjoy a smokefree existence, without compromising our careers, or our leisure-time activities.
Posted by lungblogposter at March 27, 2006 06:49 AM
Comments
As someone who is a representative of a government body and non-smoker,where do I find funds to help defray costs associated with a smoking ban? Small communities that wish to restrict smoking in a public place need signage, urns of some type, possibly a shelter for employees who smoke, etc. All of this can put a burden on very limited budgets. If grants are available, I would be very interested.
Posted by: Darrell at July 20, 2006 05:20 PM
