Rich from Oregon, Ohio writes on the SmokeFreeOhio
web site that he knows how deadly secondhand smoke can be. “My older
brother died at the age of 38 because of cancer of the tongue, jaw and
neck, caused by secondhand smoke exposure. He never smoked himself, but
was around secondhand smoke most of his like. …I had throat and lung
cancer. I survived, but I had to have a laryngectomy.” Nick from Lima
writes, “The thing I hate about going to the clubs is the smoke. Recently
I went to a club in Toledo where it was smoke-free. It was amazing I was
able to dance without breathing in the secondhand smoke and leaving the
club smelling like I did when I first went in.”
SmokeFreeOhio
is a campaign dedicated to the passage of a statewide law eliminating
smoking in all public places. The American Cancer Society, the American
Lung Association, the Ohio Health Commissioners Association, the Ohio
State Medical Association, the Campaign for Tobacco Free Kids, and over
170 other supporting organizations sponsor this cause.
On November 17, 2005 Ohio took a giant step toward
becoming smoke free. Over 165,000 signatures were delivered to the
Secretary of State that ask the Ohio Legislature to place an issue on the
state-wide ballot in November 2006 to make Ohio totally smoke free in
public places.
“Every Ohio has the right to breathe clean indoor
air, and every Ohio should have the right to vote on it, said Tracy
Sabetta, spokesperson for SmokeFreeOhio. “We have the signatures of
165,00 Ohio voters who want a chance to vote on this strong, statewide,
clean indoor air law.”
It is well known that
secondhand smoke causes many illnesses. Tobacco related illnesses have
been reported in people who have been exposed to secondhand smoke who have
never smoked. Several states and cities and counties in the United States
have passed clean air acts. The entire state of California bans smoking
in all public places. Two years ago the entire county of Ireland banned
smoking in all public places. Recent reports from Ireland show a decrease
in respiratory problems since the clean air act went into effect. 21
cities in Ohio have passed laws to protect citizens from secondhand
smoke. SmokeFreeOhio states that only a statewide law can protect all
Ohioans.
Lima, Ohio native,
Katharine Hammond, PhD, who is professor of Environmental Health Sciences
at the University of California Berkley, proved that occupational exposure
to tobacco toxins are highest in businesses that allow smoking in the work
place (Journal of the American Medical Association 274:956-960, 1995).
This work was used to study respiratory problems in bartenders in San
Francisco. When California became smoke-free, bartenders had fewer
respiratory problems (Journal of the American Medical Association
280:1909-1914, 1998). A study from Australia showed that non-smoking
areas in public places that allow smoking offers minimal protection to the
non-smoking public. This protection from secondhand smoke is less than
the public expects and is certainly much less protection than in places
that have no smoking (Tobacco Control 13:17-22, 2004).
The proposed law can be
found on the SmokeFreeOhio web site (www.smokefreeohio.org).
In order for this proposed law to take effect, the Ohio Legislature can
certify it to be placed on the November 2006 Ohio ballot as written. If
the Legislature does not do this, the people of Ohio can directly place it
on the ballot by collecting an additional 96,780 certified signatures.
These signatures must be from different people who signed the original
petitions. If needed, this signature gathering will take place in May
2006. When either the above happens, all Ohioans will have the chance to
vote on the statewide clean air act on November 7, 2006.
The physicians of The
Academy of Medicine of Toledo and Lucas County are strong supporters of
this proposal. Many physicians were involved in collecting signatures
last year. If more signatures need to be collected, the physicians in the
Academy of Medicine will have petitions in their offices for their
patients to sign. The Academy position is that “We want all Ohioans to
have easy access to helping in the effort of protecting all from
secondhand smoke. Together, the public and their doctors can make this
happen.”
