More nyc workers may get tobacco smoke protection

  Article date: 2002/08/23,Mayor Moving To Close Loophole

Workers and the public in all New York City workplaces, including all bars and restaurants, may soon enjoy the same protection from the second-hand smoke available now only in the city’s larger establishments, said Mayor Michael Bloomberg.

The mayor has asked that New York City close loopholes in the city’s 1995 ordinance with a new, tougher law.

"This local law that we are proposing will prohibit smoking in all indoor workplaces, including bars and restaurants," said Bloomberg at a recent press conference. Bloomberg met with reporters as health and tourism officials, city council members, and clergy stood by his side.
Old Law Leaves Many Unprotected

The current city law permits smokers to light up in restaurants seating less than 35 people. Smoking also is allowed in bars, any restaurant’s separate bar area, in convention halls, pool halls, some other businesses, and in many offices.

Too many workers are unprotected, including 160,000 New Yorkers who work in the bar and restaurant industry alone, said the mayor.

"Everybody in New York City should be entitled to a safe workplace," said Bloomberg, causing restaurant owners and workers behind him to interrupt with applause and cheers.

Studies show breathing second-hand smoke for eight hours a day is the same as smoking half a pack of cigarettes a day, noted Bloomberg.
Health Commissioner Supports Tougher Law

Speaking after Bloomberg, New York City Commissioner of Health Tom Frieden said that second-hand smoke kills 1,000 New Yorkers every year — more than are killed by homicides. And hundreds of thousands of New Yorkers are now involuntarily exposed to second-hand smoke on the job.

Thirty minutes of breathing second-hand smoke makes a non-smoker’s blood and arteries more like those of a chronic smoker, raising the risk of heart attack and strokes, said Frieden.

Second-hand smoke contains more than 40 cancer-causing chemicals, and causes more cancer deaths than asbestos, benzene, vinyl chloride, hazardous waste sites, industrial chemicals, contaminated sludge, and mining waste all combined, Frieden said.

Recent measurements found the city’s bars to have air pollution levels 40 times higher than in places like the Holland Tunnel, which carries auto traffic between New York City and New Jersey, said Frieden.
Economic Arguments Bogus

The tobacco industry has often said such laws will hurt bars and small restaurants that currently allow smoking, said Bloomberg.

But revenue figures show just the opposite — that in every place smoking has been banned, patronage in restaurants and bars has increased, providing benefits for the public and for those who work in and own such businesses, Bloomberg said.

A city tourism official said the tobacco industry warned tourists would shun the city when its first ordinance restricted smoking, but instead people went out more, spent more per check, and restaurant employment jumped 18%, compared to 5% in areas of the state largely without such laws.

A recent American Cancer Society (ACS) survey of 1,000 NYC residents showed that 73% support the proposed tighter law, said Ron Todd, director of tobacco control for the ACS.

That’s not surprising, given that only about a quarter of Americans smoke today, he said.
No Right To Harm Others

Addressing those who say the government has no right to restrict smoking in public places, Bloomberg likened the proposed ordinance to other laws that protect workers and the public.

"We would not for one second stand for workplaces with asbestos in the air, for example. We would close that workplace down immediately, but smoking is just as dangerous," the mayor said.

It is unwise to smoke, but people have the right to do it, said Bloomberg.

"What you don’t have a right to do — and what this law will enforce is — you don’t have a right to hurt others," Bloomberg said.

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