Tobacco Documents Online

6.,rt 1 o i=1J maDOH WAB C / 'Tv GOOD MORD)ING AMERICA My NEW YORR 03/16/93 . 8:2S A.M. AUDIMQ S2LOICII+tfl IN FEDERAL BUILDINaB xDi WASBINGTODT BRC1 WCAST H]CCERPT B08 JAMIESON - NEWS ANtnOR: One of these days, Washington's legendary smokey back rooms could be just back rooms. That's because Congress is considering a new ban on smoking in federal buildings. And not just some of the.buildings, all of them. ABC's Bill Greenwood has more. BILL GREFINWOOD - REPORTER: More than one million federal employees work in buildings where the air is re-circulated, not filtered, and often polluted. That exposes non-smokers to second- hand tobacco fumes, which federal health officials say can lead'~o - cancer. And Capitol Hill is no exception. This is where smoke- filled rooms were invented. GOVERNOR BILL DURBIN: This is an anachronism. That in a room like this, with so many non-smokers, we have an invitation for members of Congress to smoke. GREENWOOD: Surgeon General Antonia Novello supports a ban.- on smoking in public buildings and told lawmakers smoking will be a factor in 43Q,000 deaths, this year alone. DR. ANTONIA NOVELLO - U.S. SURGEON GENERAL: 434,000 people every year is equivalent of three fully loaded jumbo jets crashing every day and killing everyone. GREENWOOD: To reduce the danger of aesond-hand-smoke, workers at the Department of Health and Human Services are already. forced to puff outside. UNIDENTIFIED HEALTH & FiUMAN SERVICES WORKER: I think it's good myself. I'm trying to quit all the time, and this is one less place that I can smoke. GREENWOOD: Officials admit a government-wide ban on indoor smoking would be inconvenient, but only for one worker in four. Three out of four Americans do not smoke. ` Bill Greenwood, ABC News, Washington. ca.. AsxV