Facts on Secondhand Smoke

Restoring Local Control to Communities in Iowa

Secondhand Smoke is Dangerous
• 53,000 people die each year from diseases related to secondhand smoke, 500 of them are Iowans.
• Secondhand smoke is the 3rd leading cause of preventable death in the U.S.
• Secondhand smoke contains up to 50 known carcinogens defined by the EPA.
• There is no safe level of exposure to secondhand smoke.
• Over 400,000 smokers die each year from smoking related disease.

Why Local Policies
• Local smokefree campaigns engage the whole community in a discussion of public health and policies aren’t adopted unless a majority of the community supports them.
• Local control works because it allows a community to have a discussion about the risks of secondhand smoke and develop a solution that fits the area.
• Local policies are easier to enforce because they are enforced by a community-based agency such as a city health department or police department.
• Compliance with local policies is higher due to greater public knowledge and self enforcement.

Workplace Policies Work
• Exposure to secondhand smoke in the workplace causes more death and disease than all other regulated occupational substances combined.
• Smokefree workplace policies can enhance productivity by reducing the effects of secondhand smoke on nonsmokers and reducing excess absenteeism among workers.
• Smokers employed at workplaces with a smokefree policy are 38% more likely to quit smoking and could save employers an estimated $960 per worker in excess illness cost each year.
• There are laws protecting workers from many other toxic chemicals such as asbestos, pesticides, and radon.
• Smokefree workplace policies have been proven to improve worker morale and health.

The Public Supports Local Control
• According to the 2004 Adult Tobacco Survey conducted by the Gallup Organization, 88 percent of Iowans agreed that people should be protected from secondhand smoke.
• As of October 2005 more than 1,990 cities or municipalities and eleven states including, New York, Delaware, Connecticut, California, Maine, Florida, Idaho, Massechussets, Utah, and South Dakota, have passed clean indoor air ordinances and laws.
• 35% of the U.S. population is protected by smoking laws and ordinances.
• Local governments in 34 states, including Minnesota, Wisconsin, Missouri and Nebraska have the ability to protect their citizens from the dangers of secondhand smoke while 11 states have passed statewide laws prohibiting smoking in public places.

Communities in Iowa should be able to protect their residents as well.