South Carolina Tobacco Collaborative

Smoke Free

What if you had to choose between your job and exposure to a known cancer-causing agent?

Food service workers have a 50% greater risk of dying from lung cancer than the general population, in part, because of secondhand smoke exposure in the workplace.

In 2006, the US Surgeon General declared that there is no safe level of exposure to second hand smoke. Read the six main conclusions of the Surgeon General's Report below. Second-hand smoke is a workplace issue ...  a job safety issue for employees.

ASHRAE is the American Society for Heating and Refrigeration Engineers. They set standards that often become indoor air policy across the country. ASHRAE has declared that there is no way to effectively remove second hand smoke  from air. This means that those air cleaners don't currently get the job done effectively. ASHRAE's guidelines say that the only way to provide clean air to to prevent smoking in the first place.

Employees working in a business that allows other employees or customers to smoke are at risk of ongoing and, over time, substantial health effects. These employees may be in low wage jobs that do not include health insurance. Those will either go untreated or their treatment is likely to become a public expense. Insured non-smoking employees in businesses that allow smoking can drive up group insurance rates due to frequent and sometimes expensive treatment.

What's the best answer? SCTC supports the efforts of individual businesses and communities to enact comprehensive smoke free policies in order to protect employees. Use the links to the left to learn why it's important that these be local efforts, what communities in South Carolina are taking these steps, how to start a program in your business or community, and the importance of thanking elected officials who have made the decision to make their communities smoke-free.

There are other benefits to going smoke free beyond employee safety:

Business owners who choose to go smoke-free usually find that their employee sick-days go down and productivity goes up. Those operating retail businesses - especially restaurants, bars and hotels - usually find that their business goes up once customers know they are smoke-free. Almost 80% of South Carolina's population is smoke free and generally prefers a smoke-free atmosphere. In fact, many smokers do as well.

Business owners and communities that chose to go smoke free also realize a smoking cessation benefit. Many smokers choose to use this as an opportunity to quit smoking, multiplying the positive public health effect of such a choice.

The United States Surgeon General has issued two reports that address the impact of breathing tobacco smoke:

A Report of the Surgeon General: How Tobacco Smoke Causes Disease

December 9, 2010 US Department of Health and Human Services
Major Conclusions:

1. There is no safe level of exposure to tobacco smoke. Any exposure to tobacco smoke - even an occasional cigarette or exposure to secondhand smoke - is harmful.
2. Damage from tobacco smoke is immediate.
3. Smoking longer means more damage.
4. Cigarettes are designed for addiction.
5. There is no safe cigarette.
6. The only proven strategy for reducing the risk of tobacco-related disease and death is to never smoke.

The Health Consequences of Involuntary Exposure to Tobacco Smoke: A Report of the Surgeon General.

1. Many millions of Americans, both children and adults, are still exposed to secondhand smoke in their homes and workplaces despite substantial programs in tobacco control.
2. Secondhand smoke exposure causes disease and premature death in children and adults who do not smoke.
3. Children exposed to secondhand smoke are at an increased risk for sudden infant death syndrome (SIDS), acute respiratory infections, ear problems, and more severe asthma. Smoking by parents causes respiratory symptoms and shows lung growth in their children.
4. Exposure of adults to secondhand smoke has immediate adverse effects on the cardiovascular system and causes coronary heart disease and lung cancer.
5. The scientific evidence indicates that there is no risk-free level of exposure to secondhand smoke.
6. Eliminating smoke in indoor spaces fully protects nonsmokers from exposure to secondhand smoke. Separating smokers from nonsmokers, cleaning the air, and ventilating buildings cannot eliminate exposures of nonsmokers to secondhand smoke.

 "Her Life" music video performed by Lucas War Hero explores life in the day of a food service worker exposed to second-hand smoke.