|
Secondhand
Smoke in the Workplace
Smoke-Free Nova Scotia
Most Nova Scotians do not smoke. Increasingly,
people are recognizing it’s okay to clear the air with other workers and create a smoke-free
working environment. The fact is, lighting up in the workplace too often
means putting another person’s health at risk.
What is the effect of secondhand smoke in the workplace?
- Secondhand smoke causes about 200 deaths
per year in Nova Scotia and is the leading cause of workplace death.
- Exposure to second-hand smoke causes heart disease, lung cancer, nasal
sinus cancer and respiratory ailments in adults, and it causes sudden infant
death syndrome, fetal growth impairment and a wide range of respiratory
conditions in infants and children, including bronchitis, pneumonia, middle
ear disease and asthma exacerbation.
- Research has linked secondhand smoke to cervical and breast cancer,
stroke, and miscarriages in adults; and to asthma induction, decreased lung function,
cystic fibrosis, and cognition and behaviour problems in children.
- Restaurant, bar and casino workers are particularly at risk from workplace
exposure to secondhand smoke. In restaurants, secondhand smoke levels are
twice as high as in other workplaces that do not have smoking restrictions.
In bars and casinos they are 3-6 times as high.
- Food service workers have a 50% higher rate of lung cancer than the
general population.
- Smoking regulations in pubs, bars and restaurants are a logical extension
of efforts to make paper, logging and other industries safer. Smoking is
already barred on domestic airlines and on buses.
- Smoke-free workplace legislation would reduce ETS exposure among Nova
Scotians by 80%, cut cigarette consumption among smokers by 20%, and save Nova
Scotia
an estimated $200 million a year in avoided health care costs ($50 million)
and productivity losses ($150 million).
Let’s clear the air
- Workers and the public can only be protected
from the dangers of second-hand smoke if smoking is prohibited on the
worksite.
- Expert assessments, empirical evidence, risk assessment procedures,
and internationally accepted indoor air quality and ventilation standards have
determined that ventilation and non-smoking sections do not remove the
toxic constituents of tobacco smoke from the air and provide no solution
to the problem of exposure to secondhand smoke.
Does clearing the air put a cloud over jobs and the economy?
- Without exception, every objective study using official sales tax data
demonstrates that smoke-free legislation has no adverse impact on restaurant,
bar, hotel and tourism receipts.
- Two studies found an initial decline in receipts in the first 1-2 months
following enactment, but no evidence of any aggregate decline in the longer
term.
- Indeed, several studies find that restaurant, bar, hotel and tourism
receipts increase following smoke-free legislation, indicating that it may be
good
for business as non-smokers frequent eating and drinking establishments
more often and smokers adjust to the new rules.
Smoke-free workplaces are good for Nova Scotia
-
As part of Nova Scotia’s Tobacco Reduction Strategy, smoke-free indoor
public places and workplaces protect the public and workers from the significant
health risks of secondhand smoke, prevent young people from starting to
smoke and increase the number of smokers who quit.
- Given the consistency of the evidence, the enormous and costly toll
of secondhand smoke exposure, the economic benefits of smoke-free workplace
legislation, and the demonstrated lack of any adverse impact on business,
there is a clear case to support 100% smoke-free legislation/policies and
bylaws in Nova Scotia.
- In fact, there is overwhelming support for 100% Smoke-free Workplaces.
In a recent Department of Health study, 85% of all employees in the Northern
Region were in support of their workplace being or continuing to be 100%
smoke-free.
- And in that same study 90% of all owners/managers, were in support of
their workplace being or continuing to be 100% smoke-free.
- Smoke-free work environments are an important consideration in light
of the growing body of legal precedent indicating that governments and employers
are bound by law to ensure safe working environments for employees and
to remove known health hazards from the workplace.
In a smoke-free workplace …
- Employee health, productivity and morale is higher in a smoke-free workplace.
- Smoke-free work means lower cleaning costs, less damage to furniture
and equipment, and less risk of fire.
-
Smoke-free workplaces can help employers avoid smoking-related workers’ compensation
claims.
For more information, please contact Smoke-Free Nova Scotia at P.O. Box
822, Lr. Sackville, NS B4C 3V3 (902) 864-9633 (toll free)1-866-777-7374
www.smokefreens.ca
|
|
