Tobacco Documents Online

/ 1~E6..Q., oacia.r Dunn, Chairman andlChle( Ezecntive Officer 65 L1!:Et;TIY STii~~E7 h1EP1 YGRK,, Nd:Y, (2T2) 7E6-T3S;; 190' S(AT(: ST'^1LLT' AL[17:NY, N.Y. ('~1'II) 4u3-33l', A,. 8565-A S. 611,7-A, ( ) ( Cortenittee Health Cocrrnittee Health Subject PRoI'•lIBITS SMOKING IN, PULi'LIC' PLACES We strongly disapprove oi this legislation proposed on the following grounds: 11 - Public Benefit Not Establ'ishedl- The existing statute (Article 13 E of the Public Health Law),, enacted effective July 1,,, 1975, prohibits smoking on public mass transit and duri,ng,public performances i:i motion picture, staee,, dran.a„ musical recital, dance and lecture hails.. Apart from thi, recent enactment (which is difficult to enforce) many retail stores - or departments with- ial stores - as well as a number of restaurants, offices, factories and meetling, h;,Ils hav, voluntarily established smoking restrictions tailored to individual preferences and ! r•eo,ui: ments. A store, for example,, may bar smoking to avoid damage to goods - or to con:p:_, with local fire ordinances„ When done voluntarily, as in the case of individual wor•kcr•S having a sensit;ivity t'o tohacco smo:ce, the arrangcrnents arc generally informal and sub- ject to change by the owner or proprietor. 2 - Iinpract',icalRy - This 1'egislationiis far randing,and would cover2lttces of'wor•k (ic,ciudinta fa(,tK)rics,, coTUmerical offices and establishrnents), arenas, rr•ectinuf roon s, eo:,vc nt,ic : halls, edueational' facilities, restaurants, retailstorrs, enclosed shap_oitr.- m,alls and ot}tcr enclosed or indoor public meeting areas of' all kinds. To permit any smol:inb by the publi,c,, trdesignatled smoking arcas"wou:lrll h:_ve to: be esiabli:shed and posted. Just a, few examples off how senseless this can be: a. Commercial Offices - People are generally grouped, within offices, basedl upon their functional activity. In all likelihood there are s:nokers and non smokers in any group.. Hbw, can an office operate effectively if' all smokers, regardless of what their job or who supervises ti:em,, have to be in one place?' b. Convention Hails or Sh_o pinr! MInIis_- People move about freely to various exliibitls or from store: to store in~ such facilities, it' is difficult to imagine how specifiad! smoking, areas could be established. c. Spor•t Arenas - If sections are dh•signo-,tcd as smoking or non-smoking, one can easily imagine offending potential patrons who want one or thee other only to find iti sold out - to say nothinb,of the fut',ilit',y of enforce- ment in so large an area and in the "charged" atr,anosphere of an athleticc contest; d, fi:rlti,_.tinital`I tc iliCi r_ From tlinln,;, liall's tlo, Icctuu•tr to virtiuul!l,y' evcr ywl.ere on campus - one caa scarcely pictur.e a practical mcar,s of' s:ettill:g u(~ip s.:rori:ing and non. smoking areaS'~s and sC:ctions~ - in every ~ public roor::~_ Cllcartly, an~ i~rnpossibl,e task. 03G35179 i,~. '

C 3 - Unenforceability - In a society in which our police are undermanned, our courts jammed, pt ose- cutnrs overworked, calend7rs backlogged, etc., etc,, etc. ---- we are hard pressed to visuallize meaninbful enforcement of this typc ofstatute. Do the sponsors propos'e added state and/'or local expenditures to staff up government offices in which regula- tions are pronAalglt'ed, hearings held for waivers and interprct'ations and other steps taken to flush out a statutewhich will only be honored in the breach? We cannot' pic* ture, for example„ New York City, police officers - depleted in numbers because of budget constraints - enforcing such a statute and'risking the loss of valuable time off the streets to be in court on the return date on smoking violation summonses. Also, do we enhance respect f'or the le-;islatiue process and for the laws themselves by placing unenforceable laws on the books ? 4' - Financiai' BuLL-Cen - Apart from the initial costl of signs - and the replacement cnst of those removed or defaced, Section 1399 Q states, in part, that ------ I- existing physical barriers and ventilation systems shall be used to minimize the toxic effectof smoke inadja- cent non-smokingareas. " Using a coi:nn7ercial ofi.ice as ai fairly typical example, one cani visualize a large general officeset, up withia Ilsmi and "non-smoking" section. At a later date operational changes require physical reconfiguration ofthe office space. Question - Must the office be rnaiintaiher3' with the 11exiisting„ harriers and ventilatio:: sy,stem ? If not, must an equivalent set of barriers andl comparable ventilation, be provided? Who dcci(:es'what is comparable? At what cost? Is it possiblc that an office manager sets up what is perceivedias an! acceptable desibn, only to have son-:,:;- one complain later?' Will an extra, pi be required before construction or reno- vation is undertaken? This single example could be repeated, using various types of affectedi public places, demonstrating the potentiall adverse economic impact. - Conclusion - We believe that this legislation is not imthe public interest and we urge disapproval. a363S180r II,~M'. U: AMDL W.D',4 .... . r•~,11 r,lliwll IU L.JENETAII i , JRAiEAU„ nr • .. nSr;. • L:..... n . lICDG'RITTPIM 11, C- -Jniu4lXa 0.1.ra~.. IAM'NINI: I411111, N„Jfl., I l,rr .rn , It rn, rl.u..l I,a~l CRAi C., i,. u Uwnn. ... .•anl C '.r~ nc , rr.YC.lm , LcRNaAY,:ob,~..,, , 1 „u,n .rl UMT Ji UUEfY', I1reS:-nn Ah DUM C U eU: C. C nrll¢c . C .,.nd. flry, UA J1 :LLL 4 AUS V c. Clo TAn An Ta W~ rl.«, A T dpi~pn Co: UT" JU1111 T. iLY;c;I-l„n„111,~ rl.,i•i•1~, I liu 1-1-l. l li Aasuruncu 5..,:,oly ~,•1'll~~•lr.`... DMrIM J. FLANA~.A~N NILLANiiI yAUPTUMr, a manl.ac. G~n..... lllei'.rr...l.li r.• In~y, 0.i•.i~n PoOnRCIT S. RATfy1CLD,.G:rrrn.lni IfAllil Y U. IILLAInLLY, r u,i~,l,rl.~nl DD: JLLntr.rCU1110LLAla i C. N•>'Ui-FLtP~rvNJ iYe~r,ir~ll LA '. ncL LAUO1nR. fb..mmn. nl ou J. MDM' JDXrA E. LICSLIL, Cl', CIIAI.LLi1f. L1 L'rn~U.,•r.iun nr II•,. l/..,uin J VAVLL LT i L I r H. O / JA. ES P. YCALLISiER, SR;, Cnurn,alm MiAfn.IC U ma..ln,, UN,1GSA1`D J. MvfIlD4A;1' :a,.n1 J011M I..All.i :rc..Jln,- MORTdN~~ J. GETMAN Exaeurlve uicoPiesidanl a Geneia! Counso! C:.GR. ll: PII rlnlJlu.lurla, JII. :I,. .. , ••.., i• DJ.L.ILDC'. Pi AT TEN,Gl.nrr.,.u,,.l In, EaIJUN,..I, •UA 1.,; J{A,,.I.L., r,. ,. nr ~ u.,ru JDI 11 B. R C CR fT 1 e.rkrl GtRA D: . GfR .I ~denli 1 u, e~~ l r ra. I. .u + uv C'n. IMLLIPII J. SCrlu: I 1'CLiN III, fjnr•n-m YAl11rM J.'.u:I:uAll; ~ ~. r ....•1., A DOi V„SLrDLJIT; Lr 1 n.,n I4r{'IrARr.l.l.~ .r r'. .~.r fi.~i I L].V{', .ir•.. i..n.i•.L.., iiry' 1 Gr)NLL„ U.'..r.ULLY IIJ.r. 1~ i,., .. c PRttTUNlL.iihflr. r•,E.rl.r~ry E{t.1AHD:lr. fUCR r nrGrlArrU.... lulnl'U, r.. a.eil M{IRRYG LTiG - a• JOIIMC T E'AD .~.11•... ~~~AC ^ALTCR D r,RnST4N, C.r nrrm,.n nl.rry.~{w•~'.