Tobacco Documents Online

Workplace Workers exposed to secondhand smoke on the job are 34% more likely to get lung cancer. The simple separation of smokers from nonsmokers within the same airspace may reduce, but cannot eliminate, the exposure of nonsmokers to secondhand smoke. There is no safe level of exposure to a cancer-causing substance. Survey responses indicate that at least 4.5 million American workers experience great discomfort from exposure to secondhand smoke. The best method for controlling worker exposure to secondhand smoke is to eliminate tobacco use from the workplace and implement a smoking cessation program to support smokers who decide to quit. About 85% of businesses had adopted some form of smoking policies in 1991, up from 36% in 1986. US. DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH & HUMAN SERVICES Public Heallh Service CDC .o...~

Tips for Effective Letters A brief, to-the-point letter is a good way to raise the issue of secondhand smoke with an employer, restaurant owner, day care director, and others. An effective letter should follow an outline like the one below: 1. State your purpose: Your goal is to have a nonsmoking policy instituted. State recent facts from the Environmental Protection Agency and other information found in this guide. Secondhand smoke is now officially a "Group A" carcinogen (known to cause cancer in humans). 2. Explain why secondhand smoke is an important problem: State reasons why you and everyone in your community should be guarded against the effects of secondhand smoke. Mention the special vulnerabilities of children and the permanent effect it can have on their lung development. 3. Support your opinion with facts: Tailor your facts to the particular area in which you want to see a smoking policy instituted. Remember that the facts are on your side - they are your ammunition. 4. Be clear about what action you are looking for. Be sure to state clearly what action you would like to see, such as a total ban or the designation of a restricted smoking area. 5. Explain how you intend to help the cause: You need to be willing to back up your opinion with specific actions that will help initiate this policy. Ask what else you can do to help change things. Some additional tips: ` Be firm and get your point across -but at the same time note that you understand and sympathize with smokers, who must fight a powerful addiction. Emphasize the importance of a smoking policy for the health of nonsmokers as well as smokers who are looking for a reason to quit. * Follow up your letter with a phone call. > U.S. DEPARTMENT OF HEALIH & HUMAN SERVICES Public Heaflh Service CDC ~~~

Facts About Secondhand Smoke Some of the key facts about secondhand tobacco smoke and its dangers are summarized below. Use them to inform your family and friends and to work for smoke-free policies in your community. General Secondhand smoke is a cause of disease, including lung cancer, in healthy nonsmokers. Each year secondhand smoke kills an estimated 3,000 adult nonsmokers from lung cancer. Secondhand smoke causes 30 times as many lung cancer deaths as all regulated air pollutants combined. Secondhand smoke causes other respiratory problems in nonsmokers: coughing, phlegm, chest discomfort, and reduced lung function. For many people, secondhand smoke causes reddening, itching, and watering of the eyes. About eight out of 10 nonsmokers report they are annoyed by others' cigarette smoke. More than 4,000 chemical compounds have been identified in tobacco smoke. Of these, at least 43 are known to cause cancer in humans or animals. At high exposure levels, nicotine is a potent and potentially lethal poison. Secondhand smoke is the only source of nicotine in the air. Nonsmokers exposed to cigarette smoke have in their body fluids significant amounts of nicotine, carbon monoxide, and other evidence of secondhand smoke. Three out of four nonsmokers have lived with smokers, and nearly half (45 percent) are worried that secondhand smoke might cause them serious health problems. More than 90 percent of Americans favor restricting or banning smoking in public places. U.S. DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH & HUMAN SERVICES Publio Health Service CDC ~~~

Forty-six states and the District of Columbia in some manner restrict smoking in public places. These laws range from limited prohibitions, such as no smoking on school buses, to comprehensive clean indoor air laws that limit or ban smoking in virtually all public places. Laws restricting smoking in public places have been implemented with few problems and at little cost to state and local government. Smoking policies may have multiple benefits. Besides reducing exposure to secondhand smoke, such policies may alter smoking behavior and public attitudes about tobacco use. Over time, these changes may contribute to a significant reduction in U.S. smoking rates. Children Each year, exposure to secondhand smoke causes 150,000 to 300,000 lower respiratory tract infections (such as pneumonia and bronchitis) in U.S. infants and children younger than 18 months of age. These infections result in 7,500 to 15,000 hospitalizations yearly. Chronic cough, wheezing, and phlegm are more frequent in children whose parents smoke. Children exposed to secondhand smoke at home are more likely to have middle-ear disease and reduced lung function. Secondhand smoke increases the number of asthma attacks and the severity of asthma in about 20% of this country's 2 million to 5 million asthmatic children. Each year, U.S. mothers who smoke at least 10 cigarettes a day can actually cause between 8,000 and 26,000 new cases of asthma among their children. A recent study found that infants are three times more likely to die from Sudden Infant Death Syndrome (SIDS) if their mothers smoke during and after pregnancy. Infants are twice as likely to die from SIDS if their mothers stop during pregnancy and then resume following birth.

Environmental Protection Agency Indoor Air Quality Information Clearinghouse P.O. Box 37133 Washington, DC 20013-7133 1-800438-4318 -Information about secondhand smoke and indaor air pollution. Group Against Smokers Pollution (GASP) P.O. Box 632 College Park, MD 20740 (301)4594791 -InJornmtion and progrmns about secondhand smoke and the establishment and enforceinent of nonsmoking lavs and pdicies. March of Dimes Birth Defects Foundation 12751vtamatoneck Avenue White Plains, NY 10605 . (914) 428-7100 -lnforrwtion about smnking and henlth including the effects of smofdng during pregnancy. National Cancer Institute Building 31, Room 10A24 9000 Rockville Pike Bethesda,lvID 20892 1-800-4-CANCER -Irtformation about smoking and keulth; stop-smnting telephone murueling. National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute Information Center PO Box 30105 Bethesda, MD 20824-0105 (301) 951-3260 -Information about smoking, heart diseasg and lung disease. National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health 4676 Columbia Parkway Cindnnati, OH 45226-1998 1-800-35-NIOSH -InJormation on secondhand smoke and other occupntional sofety and health problems. State and Local Health Departments Check the government section of the phone book for cument numbers and addresses. -In formation on smoking and health and exrsting smoking regulations.

Organizations With More Information Listed below are selected organizations that provide information about the effects of secondhand smoke, assistance in establishing smokefree policies, and advice on stopping smoking. Office on Smoking and Health Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Mailstop K-50 4770 Bufotd Highway, N.E. Atlanta, GA 30341-3724 1-800-CDC-1311 (copies of action guide on secottdhand smoke) (404) 488-5705 (other information) -Infornmtion about smoking and health including pamphlets, posten, and'scientific reports. Action on Smoking and Health 2013 H Stnet, N.W. Washington, DC 20006 (202) 6594310 -Information about a variety of smoking and health issues, with a forus an nonsmoking Laws and"poticies. American Cancer Society 1599 Clifton Road, N.E. Atlanta, GA 30329 1-800-ACS-2345 -Information and education programs on tobacco and secondhand smokc individual and group stop-smoking programs. American Heart Association National Center 7272 Greenville Avenue Dallas, TX 75231 (214) 373-6300 Or contact your local Heart Association in the white pages of the phone book. -Smoking information and education programs for schools, workplaces, and health care faa7ities. American Lung Association 1740 Broadway New York NY 100194274 (212) 315-8700 Or contact your local Lung Association in the white pages of the phone book. -Information and programs on smoking preaemtion, cessation, and the protection of nonsmokers' rights. Americans for Nonsmokers' Rights Suite J 2530 San Pablo Avenue Berkeley, CA 94702 (510) 841-3032 -Information to help organizations and individuals pass clean indoor air ordinances, implement workplace regulations, and develop workplace smoldng policies. U.S. DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH & HUMAN SERVICES Public Heakh Service CDC m,..~.,a....~ nCR,fY1P