Tobacco Documents Online

Secondhand Smoke in Restaurants When eating out, you want to be comfortable and enjoy your food. You certainly don't want your dining spoiled by toxic chemicals floating around in the air. Yet, according to the Environmental Protection Agency, that's exactly what happens when someone lights a cigarette. Restaurants that allow smoking can have six times the pollution of a busy highway. Secondhand smoke has many of the same poisons as the air around tomc waste dumps. Don't be fooled. Restaurants that have separate smoking and nonsmoking sections cann,ot eliminate your exposure to the tmdns from secondhand smoke. Ventilation systems are designed to efficiently circulate air within an enclosed environment, not to filter and clean it. Trying to have a smoke-free section of a restaurant is like trying to have a chlorine-free section of a swimming pool. Benefits of a Smoke-Free Restaurant The greatest benefit, of course, is the removal of all the health risks associated with. secondhand tobacco smoke. Plus: * Clean air makes the food smell and taste better. * Your clothes and hair won't smell like stale smoke after you've left the restaurant. ' * You71 be more likely to return to that restaurant because it is smoke free. Surveys show that 80 to 90% of nonsmokers ask to be seated in the nonsmoking section of restaurants when one is available. How to Approach Restaurants to Become Smoke-Free Talk to or write a letter to the owners or managers of your favorite restaurants. Explain the facts about secondhand smoke. Tell them that it doesn't make much sense for a restaurant to go to great lengths to protect its food from contamination, yet still allow smoking. For example, why would a manager prohibit cooks from smoking in U.S. DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH & HUMAN SERVICES ~L`r .Pubfic H.aQh S.rvios °" ~ . 'p1"°

the cooking area, yet allow people to smoke in the dining room? Encourage your friends to take this action with their favorite restaurants. The more that people are aware of the dangers of secondhand smoke, the more successful we'll all be at eliminating our exposure to it. If any restaurants in your community have not even established separate nonsmoking sections, ask them to do so - as a good first step. In restaurants that have such divisions, always ask to be seated as far as possible from where people are smoking. That is especially important if there are children with you. Be Aware of Tobacco Industry Arguments Tobacco companies, often acting behind restaurant association "front" groups, try to convince restaurants that they will lose business if they prohibit smoking. There is no evidence from any city that has passed a 100% smoke-free restaurant ordinance that such measures hurt business. Some restaurants even report an improvement in business, thanks to attracting more nonsmoking customers who want to avoid smoky restaurants. It helps to remember that three fourths of adult Americans do not smoke.