Anti-smoking advocates release study results
Indianapolis – An anti-smoking group is calling on the City-County Council to ban smoking in all workplaces including bars, restaurants and bowling alleys. The group says the danger of second hand smoke is not a cloudy issue.
Employees who breathe in someone else’s smoke in the workplace have their own health jeopardized every day. That’s according to new air quality studies comparing a smoke-free environment to places where smoking is allowed.
The study measured air quality at ten workplaces in the city. The group Smoke-Free Indy found the indoor air pollution was 11 times higher in these venues compared to smoke-free establishments.
“It is time to enact a comprehensive public health ordinance that seeks to protect workers in Indianapolis – our patients – from the adverse health effects of secondhand smoke. It is unconscionable especially in this current economy to place our citizens in a position of having to decide between their own health and whether or not to keep their current job,” said Dr. Christopher Doehring, St. Francis Hospital.
The results were announced at Crackers Comedy Club, a smoke- free venue. This comes as the City-County Council considers expanding the smoking ban to all work places in Indianapolis.
Proponents point to reduced heart attack rates in communities that implement smoking bans, as well as overall healthier work environments. But some restaurants and bars say that an expanded ban would cut into their business, and that they should be free to allow smoking if they choose to do so. There are also smokers who bristle at the idea of an expanded ban when smoking is already restricted in many venues.
Dr. Doehring said there is no safe level of secondhand smoke.
“Eliminating exposure to secondhand smoke in the workplace is the most significant public health measure the city county could will address this year,” said Doehring.
The US Environmental Protection Agency has set limits of 15 micrograms per cubic meter as the average annual level of PM2.5 exposure and 35 micrograms per cubic meter for 24-hour exposure. PM2.5 is the concentration of particulate matter in the air smaller than 2.5 microns in diameter. Particles of this size are released in significant amounts from burning cigarettes and are easily inhaled deep into the lungs, according to Smoke-Free Indy.
The study found that the smoking venues had rates of 164 micrograms per cubic meter of PM2.5 exposure, much higher than the EPA’s limit of 15.
Advocates for an expanded ban say about 360 communities across the United States have enacted smoke-free workplace laws that cover all workplaces including bars and restaurants. They say such an effort is necessary because secondhand smoke is a known human carcinogen and is responsible for an estimated 50,000 deaths and other illnesses every year.
Indianapolis Air Monitoring Study
[Data gathered March 2009]
Secondhand smoke (SHS) is a known human carcinogeni, and is responsible for an estimated
50,000 deaths and other illnesses each yearii. Secondhand smoke exposure remains a major
public health concern, although it is entirely preventableiii,iv. In 2006, the U.S. Surgeon General
concluded that “there is no risk-free level of exposure to secondhand smoke” and that
“eliminating smoking in indoor spaces fully protects nonsmokers from exposure to secondhand
smoke. Separating smokers from nonsmokers, cleaning the air, and ventilating buildings cannot
exposures of nonsmokers to secondhand smoke”.v
Policies requiring smoke free environments are the most effective method for reducing
secondhand smoke exposure in public placesvi. Currently, 360 communities have enacted smoke
free workplace laws that cover all workplaces—including workplaces such as bars and
restaurants—and this represents approximately 41% of the U.S. population vii.
In order to protect the public’s health, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has set
limits of 15 μg/m3 as the average annual level of PM2.5 exposure and 35 μg/m3 24-hour exposure.
PM2.5 is the concentration of particulate matter in the air smaller than 2.5 microns in diameter.
Particles of this size are released in significant amounts from burning cigarettes and are easily
inhaled deep into the lungs.
The study assessed indoor air quality in 10 hospitality venues in Indianapolis in March 2009.
The average level of fine particle indoor air pollution in Indianapolis workplaces that allow
smoking was 11 times higher than smoke-free venues in the U.S. and PM2.5 levels considered
healthy by the US EPA.Study Highlights
- The level of fine particle air pollution is very unhealthy in Indiana bars permitting
smoking (PM2.5 = 164 μg/m3). This level of air pollution is 11 times higher than smokefree
venues in the U.S., and 12 times higher than outdoor pollution levels in Marion
County.
- Employees in the Indianapolis venues permitting indoor smoking are exposed to levels of
air pollution 3 times higher than safe annual levels established by the U.S. Environmental
Protection Agency due solely to their occupational exposure to tobacco smoke pollution.
- Workers and patrons in the smoking-permitted workplaces in this study are still exposed
to hazardous air contaminants and are at risk for a wide range of adverse health effects
including lung cancer, cardiovascular disease and death, and effects on the unborn fetus
such as pre-term delivery, low birth weight and spontaneous abortion. Smoke free air
policies are proven to effectively protect the health of workers and patrons from the
adverse effects of exposure to tobacco smoke pollution.
