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Clean Air Standards fqr Workplaces and Public Places Ordinance
<br /> Page 2-Substitute Bill No.24-12
<br /> cause of disease in healthy nonsmokers, including heart disease, stroke, respiratory disease, and lung
<br /> cancer. The National Cancer Institute determined in 1999 that secondhand smoke is responsible for the
<br /> early deaths of approximately 53,000 Americans annually. (National Cancer Institute (NCI), "Health
<br /> effects of exposure to environmental tobacco smoke: the report of the California Environmental Protection
<br /> Agency. Smoking and Tobacco Control Monograph 10,"Bethesda, MD: National Institutes of Health, National
<br /> Cancer Institute (NCI), August 1999)
<br /> The Public Health Service's National Toxicology Program (NTP) has listed secondhand smoke
<br /> as a known carcinogen. (Environmental Health Information Service (EHIS), "Environmental tobacco smoke:
<br /> first listed in the Ninth Report on Carcinogens," U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS),
<br /> Public Health Service, NTP, 2000;reaffirmed by the NTP in subsequent reports on carcinogens,2003,2005)
<br /> There is indisputable evidence that implementing 100% smoke-free environments is the only
<br /> effective way to protect the population from the harmful effects of exposure to secondhand smoke.
<br /> (World Health Organization (WHO), "Protection from exposure to secondhand smoke: policy
<br /> recommendations," World Health Organization (WHO), 2007)
<br /> In reviewing I I studies concluding that communities see an immediate reduction in heart attack
<br /> admissions after the implementation of comprehensive smoke free laws, the Institute of Medicine of
<br /> the National Academies concluded that data consistently demonstrate that secondhand smoke exposure
<br /> increases the risk of coronary heart disease and heart attacks and that smoke free laws reduce heart
<br /> attacks. (Institute of Medicine (IOM) of the National Academies, Board on Population Health and Public
<br /> Health Practice, Committee on Secondhand Smoke Exposure and Acute Coronary Events, "Secondhand smoke
<br /> exposure and cardiovascular effects: making sense of the evidence," Washington, DC- National Academies
<br /> Press, October 2009)
<br /> A significant amount of secondhand smoke exposure occurs in the workplace. Employees who
<br /> work in smoke-filled businesses suffer a 25-50% higher risk of heart attack and higher rates of death
<br /> from cardiovascular disease and cancer, as well as increased acute respiratory disease and measurable
<br /> decrease in lung function. (Pitsavos, C.; Panagiotakos, D.B.; Chrysohoou, C.; Skoumas, J.; Tzioumis, K.;
<br /> Stefanadis, C.; Toutouzas, P., "Association between exposure to environmental tobacco smoke and the
<br /> development of acute coronary syndromes: the CARDI02000 case-control study," Tobacco Control 11(3); 220-
<br /> 12.5, September 2002)
<br /> Studies measuring cotinine (metabolized nicotine) and NNAL (metabolized nitrosamine NICK,
<br /> a tobacco-specific carcinogen linked to lung cancer) in hospitality workers find dramatic reductions in
<br /> the levels of these biomarkers after a smoke free law takes effect. Average cotinine Ievels of New York
<br /> City restaurant and bar workers decreased by 85% after the city's smoke free law went into effect.
<br /> ([n.a], "The State of Smoke-Free New York City: A One Year Review,"New York City Department of Finance,
<br /> New York City Department of Health &Mental Hygiene, New York City Department of Small Business Services,
<br /> New York City Economic Development Corporation, March 2004).
<br /> After the implementation of Ontario, Canada's Smoke free Indoor Air Law, Ievels of NNAL
<br /> were reduced by 52% in nonsmoking casino employees and cotinine levels fell by 98%. (Geoffrey T,
<br /> Fong, et. a)., "The Impact of the Smoke-Free Ontario Act on Air Quality and Biomarkers of Exposure in
<br /> Casinos: A Quasi-Experimental Study," Ontario Tobacco Control Conference, Niagara Falls, Ontario,
<br /> December 2, 2006)
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