Secondhand Smoke = $47.5 M in Excess Health Costs for Marion County

Today, Smoke Free Indy released a study on the economic impact of secondhand smoke exposure that was conducted by the IU School of Medicine, Bowen Research Center.

The key finding is that secondhand smoke costs Marion County residents $47.5 million annually in excess health costs, or $54 per person. Links to the executive summary and full report can be found here.

While the significant health harm caused by secondhand smoke is a compelling reason to support comprehensive smokefree workplace laws by itself, the fact that secondhand smoke exposure has such a staggering cost in Indiana provides even more reasons why the City-County Council should adopt Proposal 371 in its present form and without further amendments.

Proposal 371, the smokefree workplace proposal will be up for consideration and action by the full council on Monday night at 7pm. Please contact the Indianapolis City-County Council and Mayor Greg Ballard to ask them to support Proposal 371 to protect the health of workers. Go here to find out who your Councillor is and call Mayor Ballard at: (317) 327-3601.