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PROPOSED ORDINANCE NUMBER:
<br /> (Environmental Health Information Service(EHIS), "Environmental tobacco smoke:first listed in the Ninth
<br /> Report on Carcinogens," U.S. Department of Health and Human Services(DHHS), Public Health Service,
<br /> NTP, 2000;reaffirmed by the NTP in subsequent reports on carcinogens, 2003,2005.)
<br /> There is indisputable evidence that implementing 100% smoke-free
<br /> environments is the only effective way to protect the population from the harmful
<br /> 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 11 studies concluding that communities see an immediate
<br /> reduction in heart attack admissions after the implementation of comprehensive
<br /> smoke free laws, the Institute of Medicine of the National Academies concluded
<br /> that data consistently demonstrate that secondhand smoke exposure increases
<br /> the risk of coronary heart disease and heart attacks and that smoke free laws
<br /> reduce heart attacks.
<br /> (Institute of Medicine(10M)of the National Academies, Board on Population Health and Public Health
<br /> Practice, Committee on Secondhand Smoke Exposure and Acute Coronary Events, "Secondhand
<br /> smoke exposure and cardiovascular effects: making sense of the evidence," Washington, DC:National
<br /> Academies Press,October 2009.)
<br /> A significant amount of secondhand smoke exposure occurs in the workplace.
<br /> Employees who work in smoke-filled businesses suffer a 25-50% higher risk of
<br /> heart attack and higher rates of death from cardiovascular disease and cancer,
<br /> as well as increased acute respiratory disease and measurable decrease in lung
<br /> function.
<br /> (Pitsavos, C.; Panagiotakos, D.B.; Chrysohoou, C.;Skoumas,J.;Tzioumis, K.;Stefanadis,C.;Toutouzas,
<br /> P., "Association between exposure to environmental tobacco smoke and the development of acute coronary
<br /> syndromes:the CARDI02000 case-control study," Tobacco Control 11(3):220-225, September 2002.)
<br /> Studies measuring cotinine (metabolized nicotine) and NNAL (metabolized
<br /> nitrosamine NNK, a tobacco-specific carcinogen linked to lung cancer) in
<br /> hospitality workers find dramatic reductions in the levels of these biomarkers
<br /> after a smoke free law takes effect. Average cotinine levels of New York City
<br /> restaurant and bar workers decreased by 85% after the city's smoke free law
<br /> went into effect.
<br /> ([n.a.], "The State of Smoke-Free New York City:A One Year Review," New York City Department of
<br /> Finance, New York City Department of Health&Mental Hygiene, New York City Department of
<br /> Small Business Services, New York City Economic Development Corporation, March 2004).
<br /> After the implementation of Ontario, Canada's Smoke free Indoor Air Law,
<br /> levels of NNAL were reduced by 52% in nonsmoking casino employees and
<br /> cotinine levels fell by 98%.
<br /> (Geoffrey T. Fong,et. al,, "The Impact of the Smoke-Free Ontario Act on Air Quality and Biomarkers of
<br /> Exposure in Casinos:A Quasi-Experimental Study," Ontario Tobacco Control Conference, Niagara Falls,
<br /> Ontario, December 2,2006.)
<br /> Following a Health Hazard Evaluation of Las Vegas casino employees'
<br /> secondhand smoke exposure in the workplace, which included indoor air quality
<br /> tests and biomarker assessments, the National Institute of Occupational Safety &
<br /> Health (NIOSH) concluded that the casino employees are exposed to dangerous
<br /> levels of secondhand smoke at work and that their bodies absorb high levels of
<br /> tobacco-specific chemicals NNK and cotinine during work shifts. NIOSH also
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