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Home / Washington Business - March/April 2004 / Pros & Cons: Smoke-free Laws Are Good for Business |
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Pros & Cons: Smoke-free Laws Are Good for Business |
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Written On: March/April 2004 |
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Written By: By Marina Cofer-Wildsmith |
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It’s the right time to take secondhand smoke off the menus in Washington’s restaurants and bars. By extending the Clean Indoor Air Act, state lawmakers have an opportunity to protect public health, preserve employment and level the playing field for business.
We don’t eat off dirty dishes and we shouldn’t have to breathe dirty air where we work or recreate.
Over 65 percent of Washingtonians support eliminating secondhand smoke from all indoor public places. The public knows that exposure to secondhand smoke should not be a condition of employment. The only workers in our state who aren’t protected from secondhand smoke are workers in restaurants, bars, bowling alleys and skating rinks. We know that waitresses are three times more likely to die from lung cancer than women in other occupations and are 2.5 times as likely to die of heart disease. Many hospitality workers inhale the equivalent of two packs of unfiltered cigarettes a day. Not all workers exposed to secondhand smoke in their workplace have the luxury of finding a healthier job in our tough economy.
Overwhelming opinion leader support exists. Not only have editorial boards around the state written in support of a statewide ban but the legislation has support from Democrats and Republicans, from both east and west of the mountains. The message is clear: every worker deserves the right to breathe clean, smoke-free air.
By enacting a statewide ban, every business will be on an even playing field and every worker will be protected.
Smoke Free Laws are Good for Business.
Economic research and experience in other states and cities with similar laws show that an indoor smoking ban is either business neutral or improves revenues and jobs. Just as with other states that have local or statewide laws, people will be more likely to frequent Washington’s restaurants and bars if they are smoke free. In New York City, following its implementation of its Smoke-Free Air Act, data showed that the law “has not had a negative impact on employment in bars and restaurants in New York City.” (Source: New York State Department of Labor Data). Zagat’s October 2003 survey of 29,361 New York restaurant-goers found that 23 percent of respondents said they are eating out more often because of the city’s smoke-free workplace law, while only four percent said they are eating out less. In California, revenues from bars and restaurants have increased every year since the ban on indoor smoking went into effect. In fact, the number of bars and restaurants doing business in California has increased dramatically since the ban, as well. (Source: California State Board of Equalization). Likewise, studies of sales tax data from 81 localities in six states have consistently demonstrated that ordinances restricting smoking in restaurants had no effect on restaurant revenues (Source: Journal of Public Health Management and Practice). And, studies of local smoke-free policies in Massachusetts have shown no substantial impact on aggregate restaurant sales. (Source: Journal of Public Health Management and Practice).
There simply is no credible evidence that going smoke-free is bad for business. However, there is a lot of credible data showing that going smoke-free is a positive business decision. Workers who don’t have to wade through smoke feel healthier and can work more productively.
Secondhand Smoke is a Public Health Hazard and a Burden on our Healthcare System.
The research is definitive. Secondhand smoke is responsible for one of every nine tobacco-related deaths, contributing to lung, nasal, and sinus cancer, heart disease, and is a major cause of Sudden Infant Death Syndrome (SIDS), asthma, bronchitis, pneumonia, and ear infections in children. Washington cannot afford to lose all of these lives and health care costs to secondhand smoke. The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, World Health Organization, U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, and U.S. Surgeon General, in addition to many other public health organizations, have all declared second-hand smoke to be a clear public health hazard. Secondhand smoke contains more than 4,000 chemicals and at least 40 known carcinogens (cancer-causing agents). Just as with other forms of smoking, there is no known “safe” level of exposure to secondhand smoke.
Passing a comprehensive clean indoor air law this year is good public health and business policy for Washington with broad support across the state.
Marina Cofer-Wildsmith, CEO, American Lung Association of Washington, is a member of Washington BREATHE, an alliance which also includes the American Cancer Society, American Heart Association, Washington Asian Pacific Islanders Against Substance Abuse and the Center for Multicultural Health. The mission of BREATHE is to eliminate secondhand smoke in all indoor public places.
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