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Pastimes : Let's Talk About Our Feelings!!! -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: Lady Lurksalot who wrote (15703)	1/19/1998 9:50:00 AM
From: Grainne	Read Replies (2) \| Respond to of 108807

Holly,according to the following report, "Bar employees are regularly exposed to 20 times as much secondhand smoke as someone living in a home with a smoker and suffer from more lung and heart disease than those in any other occupation." While I sympathize with individual bar employees hurt by this law, the ones I have seen interviewed are simply desperate for tips, trying to survive like everyone else. I am not sure they are making informed decisions about their future health status years down the road. That is why we have workplace safety laws--individual workers can in some ways be coerced by the need to make a living. If the smokers in California are really concerned about the welfare of bar employees, why don't they help out by patronizing the bars, but stepping outside to smoke. Is this really such a hideous inconvenience? STATEMENT BY CALIFORNIA MEDICAL ASSOCIATION REGARDING NEW BAN ON SMOKING In Bars SAN FRANCISCO, Dec. 31 /PRNewswire/ -- With the coming New Year, California once again takes a bold step forward, becoming the first state to ban smoking in bars. As sponsor of the 1994 legislation calling for the ban, the California Medical Association strongly supports state implementation of this controversial but public health-enhancing law. "California has always been a trend-setter in social policy," said Jack C. Lewin, M.D., CEO and Executive Vice President of California Medical Association. "With implementation of the toughest anti-smoking laws in the nation -- and the world for that matter -- our state once again leads the way. California Medical Association is proud to have played a key role in the passage of this important legislation. We now look forward to the successful implementation of a complete ban on smoking in bars." Thanks to broad public support and a coalition of anti-smoking groups, employees and non-smoking customers of California bars, taverns and gaming clubs will no longer be exposed to deadly second-hand smoke. Bar employees are regularly exposed to 20 times as much secondhand smoke as someone living in a home with a smoker and suffer from more lung and heart disease than those in any other occupation. The Environmental Protection Agency has classified second-hand smoke as a Group-A carcinogen and workplace health hazard. California physicians have worked for decades to educate their patients about the dangers of tobacco use and to promote anti-tobacco legislation. In recent years, California Medical Association and its allies in the fight against second-hand smoke have turned back repeated attempts by the tobacco industry to delay implementation of the smoking ban in bars. "Successful implementation of this ban will send an important signal to the rest of the nation that the ground swell of public opposition to smoking cannot be stopped -- no matter how much money the tobacco industry spends," said Dr. Lewin. "The physician members of California Medical Association call on every citizen of the state to support the new ban. Your health, that of the person sitting next to you, and of the person serving you, depend on it." The California Medical Association represents California physicians from all regions, modes of practice and medical specialties. With 35, 000 members, CMA is the nation's largest state medical association and is dedicated to the health of all Californians. SOURCE California Medical Association -0- 12/31/97 /CONTACT: Hobart Swan of CMA, 415-882-5131/ /Web site: cmanet.org CO: California Medical Association ST: California IN: HEA SU: (31 Dec 1997 17:38 EST) And it is not surprising that the opposition to the new no smoking law is actually coming from the tobacco companies themselves: 8:41 PM 2/23/1996 Group wants bars kept safe for smokers By DON LEE Los Angeles Times The National Smokers Alliance launched a campaign last week in California aimed at stopping a state law that will ban smoking in bars starting next year. The organization -- based in Alexandria, Va., and funded mainly by tobacco companies -- says it will mail posters and petitions to more than 5,000 California bars and taverns. By informing bar owners and amassing signatures of support from customers, the group hopes to find backing in the Legislature to change the state's year-old anti-smoking law. The ban, one of the strongest in the nation, prohibits smoking in most indoor workplaces, including restaurants. For now, the law exempts free-standing taverns as well as bars in restaurants. But that grace period expires in January. Some bar operators, fearful of losing business, welcomed the campaign. The ban "will kill our business," said Joe Tramte, a longtime bartender at Molly Malone's tavern in Los Angeles. The National Smokers Alliance, formed in 1993 largely as a result of ever-stringent anti-smoking laws, says it has 3 million members, including 400,000 in California. Its corporate sponsors, which number fewer than 50, include tobacco firms such as Philip Morris Cos. and Brown & Williamson Tobacco Corp. as well as Fluor Daniel Inc. of Irvine, Calif.