Position on Statewide Smokefree Law

Position: CAFE IOWA Citizen Action Network (CAN) supports local communities’ efforts to pass local clean indoor air ordinances and other policies that prohibit the use of tobacco in all public places and workplaces. We support passage of legislation that restores local control for laws and regulations relating to smoking prohibitions. CAFE IOWA CAN would support a statewide law only if it protects the health of all workers, did not include exemptions including but not limited to ventilation, size of workplace, type of business, or age restrictions, AND it included a clause that restored local control over secondhand smoke to Iowa’s cities and counties.

Secondhand smoke is the third leading cause of preventable death in this country after primary smoking and alcohol abuse. It kills 53,000 nonsmokers in the U.S. each year – about 500 of them Iowans. Premature death from secondhand smoke is twice as likely as dying from a car accident and nearly 15 times more likely as dying in a fire. There is no “safe” level of exposure to secondhand smoke.

New findings in the 2005 Cal-EPA report, Part B, include: a causal link between secondhand smoke exposure and pre-term delivery; asthma induction in adults; breast cancer in younger, primarily premenopausal women; and altered vascular properties.

Prohibiting smoking in the workplace can have an immediate and dramatic impact on the health of workers and patrons. Recent studies in Montana and Ohio have linked smokefree workplace laws with immediate reductions in heart attack rates, while research from New York, Boston, Delaware, and other cities has demonstrated the immediate improvement in worker health and indoor air quality that comes with the implementation of smokefree workplace laws.

Because of the mountain of evidence from these peer-reviewed, scientific studies, the Centers for Disease Control recently issued a warning for anyone at risk for heart disease to avoid smoke-filled indoor environments completely. Studies show that smokers employed at workplaces with a smokefree policy are 38 percent more likely to quit smoking and could save employers an estimated $1,000 per worker in excess illness cost each year.

According to the 2004 Adult Tobacco Survey conducted by the University of Northern Iowa, 88 % of Iowans agreed that people should be protected from secondhand smoke. A 2005 QEV Analytics poll indicated that over 70% of Iowans favored passing a local ordinance in their community that would prohibit smoking in public places.

As of January 2007, more 2507 cities and 21 states have passed clean indoor air ordinances and laws. Local governments in 35 states, including Minnesota, Wisconsin, Missouri, Nebraska, and Illinois have the ability to protect their citizens from the dangers of secondhand smoke. Local and statewide smokefree workplace laws are now in effect for approximately 52.9% of the U.S. population, leaving another 47.1% still unprotected from exposure to a known carcinogen. There are laws protecting workers from many other toxic chemicals such as asbestos, pesticides, and radon. Secondhand smoke must be addressed.

Communities in Iowa should be able to protect their residents as well. CAFE IOWA CAN supports local ordinances and other policies that provide maximum possible protection from secondhand smoke in all places of employment and places open to the public.