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| FROM THE SURGEON GENERAL’S REPORT: |
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“Secondhand smoke exposure causes heart disease and lung cancer in adults.
“There is NO risk-free level of secondhand smoke exposure, with even brief exposure adversely affecting the cardiovascular and respiratory system.
“Exposures of nonsmokers to secondhand smoke cannot be controlled by air cleaning or mechanical air exchange. Only smoke-free environments effectively protect nonsmokers from secondhand smoke exposure in indoor spaces.
“In some states, once several communities had adopted ordinances, a number of other communities followed fairly quickly. The ordinances spread as residents and policymakers elsewhere in the state learned from the experiences of others that these measures were popular and workable and that the problems the opponents predicted—most notably economic hardship and enforcement difficulties—did not occur.
“As of April 17, 2006, 10 states (California, Connecticut, Delaware, Maine, Massachusetts, New Jersey, New York, Rhode Island, Vermont, and Washington) have enacted and implemented state laws making bars smoke-free. In addition, as of April 17, 2006, 215 municipalities had ordinances in place requiring bars to be smoke-free.
“Evidence from peer-reviewed studies shows that smoke-free policies and regulations do not have an adverse economic impact on the hospitality industry.
“Another major contributing factor to the adoption of comprehensive state laws has been the growing tendency to view smoke-free policies in hospitality businesses in the context of worker protection and workplace safety (beginning with the California state law), rather than as measures designed primarily to protect patrons.
“When framed in this context, a majority of the public and policymakers in many jurisdictions has come to the conclusion that restaurant and bar workers should be afforded the same health protections as employees in other occupations.
"Finally, the mounting scientific evidence regarding the health effects of secondhand smoke has clearly played a role in convincing the public and policymakers that strong steps needed to be taken to protect nonsmokers, including nonsmoking employees, from harm.”
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Case closed: Surgeon General issues definitive report on secondhand smoke
By Bill Settlemyer
President and CEO, Setcom Media Inc.
On June 27, the U.S. Surgeon General issued a 685-page report on the health consequences of exposure to secondhand tobacco smoke.
This exhaustive analysis brings to an end any controversy about the dangers of secondhand tobacco smoke. Cigarette smoke kills, whether you’re the smoker or you’re inhaling smoke produced by someone else’s cigarette.
Is there any excuse for allowing smoking in indoor spaces open to the public? Not any more.
The Surgeon General’s report devotes over 80 pages to peer-reviewed studies from around the country confirming that smoke-free ordinances do not cause economic harm to bars and restaurants.
In our region, that’s becoming obvious as more of the region’s best restaurants voluntarily go 100% smoke-free. A case in point, a recent article in “The Post and Courier” quoted leading restaurateur Hank Holliday saying that, “There’s been an increase in business. After we did it, I felt like an idiot for not having done it sooner.”
I know Hank and his superb reputation in the hospitality business. Believe me, he is no idiot—far from it. But he deserves praise from the community for making what has proved to be a wise business decision.
I can say from personal experience that his decision made him $400 richer a few weeks ago, when I decided to take some business guests out to dinner at Peninsula Grill. There were one or two other options I considered, but they were not 100% smoke-free, so Peninsula Grill got the nod.
Other leading restaurants have also made the decision to go 100% smoke-free, among them Coast, Rue de Jean and Fulton Five. In Mount Pleasant, where our office is located, Dick Elliott’s Old Village Post House is my venue of choice for company events because it too is smoke-free.
We must educate area political leaders
I recently met with a leading local political figure to solicit his support for a smoke-free ordinance. I was dismayed to find that he was convinced the ordinance would “threaten small business owners” in his city because customers of smoke-free bars and restaurants “might walk down the street to another establishment outside the city that still permits smoking.”
The persuasion for this viewpoint apparently came from a local restaurant owner. But here’s the irony: Just in casual conversations in the past few weeks, I’ve run into several people who say they will no longer take family or friends to the restaurant in question because of the exposure to secondhand smoke.
Bottom line? This restaurant owner is losing a substantial amount of business right now because he allows smoking on his premises. And as public sentiment continues to swing in favor of smoke-free venues, his losses are likely to increase.
I know many of the area’s leading restaurant owners. They are great people who care about their employees and take pride in the enjoyment and dining pleasure they provide to residents and visitors alike. The good news is that smoke-free ordinances will protect their employees, increase their business and help strengthen our region’s reputation as one of the nation’s leading tourism destinations.
Let’s keep working until everyone sees the light, including area political leaders. I’m looking forward to the day when all of us can breath safe, clean air in all public indoor spaces, including bars and restaurants.
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