Indianapolis Star Editorial

Thanks to the Indianapolis Star for penning another great editorial in support of a statewide smokefree air bill. Hopefully 2011 will be the year the state legislature decides to join 23 other states by passing a smokefree air bill that protects all workers.

The 2006 U. S. Surgeon General Report, Health Consequences of Involuntary Exposure to Tobacco Smoke, identified all the reasons Indiana should pass a statewide smokefree air bill.:

1. Many millions of Americans, both children and adults, are still exposed to secondhand smoke in their homes and workplaces despite substantial progress 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 slows 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 smoking 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.