When Smokefree Natrona County released air quality results showing that smoking cigarettes establishments in Natrona County have toxin levels deemed "very unhealthy" by the EPA, a lot of folks thought, "So what? We know secondhand smoke cigarettes is bad for you!"
To me, though, it was a turning point. Before then, a lot of people were unconcerned with the health risks of secondhand smoke. Now, here they were acknowledging that it's unhealthy and thinking about ways to protect themselves from it. And rightly so, because it's been proven in medical studies that secondhand smoke cigarettes contributes to heart disease, respiratory disease, lung cancer and even early death.
The air quality test results take the abstract scientific fact that cheap cigarettes smoke cigarettes is unhealthy, and applies it to this community, showing we're exposing ourselves to a grave health risk right here, right now, today. At a national level, 35 states and 3,052 municipalities now have protection in place from secondhand smoke, and regionally Wyoming is surrounded by states that prohibit smoking cigarettes in indoor places of business. In itself, that's no reason why we should follow suit, but the test results are conclusively a call to action.
Casper, Mills and Evansville need an ordinance passed by their city councils which regulates secondhand smoke cigarettes indoors in all public and work places, therefore eliminating the health threat. The reason we need a regulation is to ensure that all patrons and employees on premises are protected, not just some folks on some premises.
I disagree with the loud minority who say it's a business owner's right to choose, because not everyone entering a smoking cigarettes premise is aware of the risk to their health. If they were, they wouldn't expose themselves to it.
A recent report from the U.S. Surgeon General states there's no safe level of secondhand smoke cigarettes and it can have immediate and fatal health effects. Other comparable aspects of health protection on business premises, such as food hygiene, fire safety and building codes, are regulated. If business owners are happy to follow these regulations to keep people safe, then a smokefree regulation should be no exception. Locally, the Casper-Natrona County Board of Health strongly agrees and has passed a resolution recognizing it as a health issue that should be addressed. The resolution states, "Workers and citizens of local communities should be protected from the harmful effects of secondhand smoke," and "The Casper-Natrona County Board of health further urges [local City Councils] to enact legislation to eliminate exposure to secondhand discount cigarettes smoke cigarettes in all indoor public spaces and places of employment."
Ultimately, a regulation will lead to a healthier community and ensure the protection of future generations by eliminating the threat of secondhand smoke cigarettes indoors, discouraging young people from picking up their first cigarette, and making it easier to quit. Not only that, but it makes good business sense, too.
Nationwide, 2,500 new cases of lung cancer originate every year from secondhand smoke cigarettes and 500,000 cases of heart disease, with $2.6 billion spent annually on the medical care of non-smokers suffering from smoke-related diseases. In case you were wondering, the annual healthcare cost to Wyoming of smoking cigarettes is nearly $150 million, with each household bearing the additional federal and state tax burden of about $600 a month, related to medical treatment.
But by regulating where folks can smoke, health insurance costs will be reduced for everyone, the number of sick days for employees will go down, and businesses will profit from the commerce of folks who currently stay away from their premises because of the smoke. A good example of this is when the Beacon Club recently went smokefree for the evening and had its busiest Wednesday night in years; smokers were happy to step outside if they wanted a cigarette, and lots of people turned out to show the Beacon that they supported a smokefree environment. Indeed, the Beacon made more money that evening because it went smokefree, and it's this type of dynamic which has caused a rethink in Natrona County.
A number of businesses have elected recently to go smokefree, including Galloway's, El-Marko and Sunrise bowling alleys and Lion's Den Bingo, to name a few. They're to be congratulated for making a bold decision that at the time couldn't have been easy. This rapid progress in such a short period of time shows that some business owners understand the risks and are choosing to make a good decision for their businesses as well as for the health of their patrons and workforce.
Of course, it's very encouraging and the owners of these businesses are now starting to see a positive effect, which validates their decision. I hope that once this becomes more apparent, many more businesses will choose to go the same way. But we still need a regulation to ensure that everyone's protected, no matter where they eat, play or work for the protection of everyone's health in this community today and tomorrow.
Todays tip: Monte Carlo look here.
Recent Comments