Tobacco Documents Online

Services of Mead Data Central, Inc. LEVEL a- 35 OF 55 STORIES The Associated Press PAGE 119 The materials in the AP file were compiled by The Associated Press. These materials may not be republished without the express written consent of The Associated Press. October 15, 1987, Thursday, PM cycle SECTION:' Washington Dateline LENGTH: 528 words HEADLINE:,New Study Says Federal Agencies Smoking Policies Inadequate BYLINE: By LES BLUMENTHAL, Associated' Press Writer DATELINE: WASHINGT(3N KEYWORD: Smoking Study BODY: Federal agencies have failed to adopt policies that adequately separate non-smoking employees from those who smoke and have treated the problem as a social rather than a health and safety issue, according to a federally commissioned report released today. "Effective smoking control polices are an achievable qoal of the qo_v_e_r ment but this requires a commitment to address the issue," said the repnrt frnm thp non-profit Smoking Policy Institute. "Close examination shows that this issue needs more careful considerat1 orf." The report, requested by the U.S. Surgeon General and the U.S. Office on Smoking and'Health, also said the General Services Administration's 1986 requirement that federal agencies implement smoking controls for their employees was too broad. "The GSA regulations do not adequately protect non-smoking employees and the agencies are not fully in compliance with even this minimum standard," the report said. "Government agencies are responding to the 'letter' of the GSA smoking regulations but not their spirit." ~ 0 The GSA regulations require that smoking be held to an "absolute minimum" in ~ areas where there are non-smokers, but the report found that at most federal agencies it was impossible for employees to go through an entire day without N ~ routinely being exposed to smoke. ~ C11 Rather than actually separating smokers fron non-smokers in different rooms, the report found that many agencies have just established a policy of provi6ing separate smoking areas in such rooms as cafeterias, lobbies and snack bars. G.~ CA ~0 "It's a classic example of government making a rule, than adding a hundred exce tions " said Robert Rosner executive director o the Sea e- ase -institute. "Rather than a mitting smo ino presen s a ealpro lem and isolatino smoking in the workplace, the aqencies ave set up fnis Byzantine EXIS*w s x1s*LEx 1s`NEXe s~

Services of Mead Data Central, Inc. The Associated Press, October 15, 1987 house of cards." [19 PAGE 110 ner was scheduled to testify today before the federal Interagenc Committee on Smoking and Health. A GSA spokesman said his agency was not aware of the report an6that in general the agency felt that government efforts to control smoking in the workplace have "gone well." "We are not aware of any major problems," said Steve Guilheen. "Some of the agencies were a little slow in implementing the regulations, but that has been squared away.° The report reviewed the smoking polices at seven government agencies, Including the Department of Health and Human Services and the Department of Labor. "By failing to comply fully with GSA regulations, the majority of federal agencies are open to lawsuits from their non-smoking employees," the report said. uBy acknowledging the problem, but not resolving it, the government is potentially negligent and has made itself a target for lawsuits by its employees." The report said the agencies surveyed tended to treat so-called sidestreami smoke as a social rather than a health and safety problem. "This inconsistency with the government's treatment of other health an6 safety issues also increases potential liability," the report said. The Smokina Policy Institute works with various organizations and businesses on the issue of smoking in the workplace. *M LEXIS'IVEJICIS'LEIICIS"IdEXIS'