THE FACTS We all Have to Make a Living. Breathing Secondhand Smoke Shouldn't be a Condition of Employment

   

Did You Know Not All California Workplaces Are Smoke-Free?

 

When California’s Smoke-Free Workplace law (Labor Code Section 6404.5) became effective in 1995, it was a landmark piece of legislation.  No other state had a similar law for eight more years.  However, we can no longer claim that California is a national leader in protecting workers from secondhand smoke exposure on the job because:

 

·        California is not considered a 100 percent smoke-free state by the nation’s leading public health agency, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).  Twenty-four other states and the District of Columbia are considered to have 100 percent smoke-free indoor workplaces – leaving California far behind.^[1]

·        Exemptions and loopholes in California law mean that employees and patrons of certain businesses continue to be exposed to the toxic effects of secondhand smoke, even indoors.  In fact, 1 in 7 California workers (14 percent) report being exposed to secondhand smoke in the workplace.^[2] 

 

The only way to protect people from breathing secondhand smoke inside is to require all workplaces and public places to be smoke-free.  Other approaches, such as smoking rooms or air ventilation systems, do not eliminate exposure to secondhand smoke.[3], [4]

 

Shouldn’t ALL California Workers Breathe Smoke-Free Air?

 

Yes. More than 90% of Californians approve of a law to protect workers from secondhand smoke exposure in the workplace.[5]

 

Yet certain groups of Californians continue to have a higher risk of exposure to secondhand smoke.  Unequal worker protection places young adults, Hispanics and low-income workers at higher risk of harm from secondhand smoke.  Workers reporting the highest exposure to secondhand smoke include:

·        Low-income workers:

o       29.7 percent of those with a $10,001 to $20,000 annual household income; and

o       44.0 percent of those with a $20,001 to $30,000 annual household income.

·        24.3 percent of young adults (ages 18-24).

·        23.3 percent of Hispanics.[6] 

 

Because of gaps in California’s Smoke-Free Workplace law, workers in the hospitality, service, and blue-collar employment sectors are most likely to be unprotected.  

 

How Dangerous is Secondhand Smoke?

 

Secondhand smoke contains at least 250 chemicals known to be toxic and/or cause cancer, including formaldehyde, benzene, vinyl chloride, arsenic, ammonia, and hydrogen cyanide.[7]  

 

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency classifies secondhand smoke as a Class “A” human carcinogen (cancer-causing agent), the same class as asbestos.[8]  The National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health has concluded that secondhand smoke in the workplace is an occupational carcinogen.[9] 

 

The California Air Resources Board has declared secondhand smoke to be a toxic air contaminant, in the same category as diesel exhaust.[10]  

 

The U.S. Surgeon General has concluded that there is no risk-free level of exposure to secondhand smoke, ventilation cannot eliminate exposure of nonsmokers to secondhand smoke, and establishing smoke-free environments is the only proven way to prevent exposure.[11]

 

Secondhand smoke exposure causes disease and premature death in nonsmokers, including:

• Lung cancer
• Heart disease
• Respiratory diseases  

Nonsmokers who are frequently exposed to high levels of secondhand smoke increase their risk of developing heart disease by 25-30 percent, and lung cancer by 20-30 percent.[12]

 

What are the Costs and Benefits of Being Smoke-Free?

 

Nationally, the annual direct medical care costs associated with secondhand smoke exposure is estimated to be $5 billion and another $5 billion for indirect costs.[13]

 

Smoke-free laws have been found to reduce the rate of heart attacks in communities by an average of 17 percent after one year and 26 percent after three years.[14]

 

Smoke-free laws also promote smoking cessation; they increase quit attempts by smokers and decrease cigarette consumption.[15]  

 

Research shows that smoke-free policies and regulations do not have a negative impact on business revenues.[16]  Establishing smoke-free workplaces is the simplest and most cost effective way to improve employee and employer health.[17]