Across the country, communities like Denver are considering the benefits of smoke-free environments. In fact, more than 410 communities nationwide have passed laws that require all indoor work places and public places to be smoke-free.

Why? Because the scientific evidence is clear: Secondhand smoke isn't just a nuisance; it's deadly, killing nearly 60,000 non-smoking Americans each year.

The issue of secondhand smoke and smoke-free environments has been a contentious one. For years scientific evidence has existed-and continues to emerge-about the dangers of secondhand smoke. Evidence that supports the need for communities to create smoke-free work and public places. And for years the tobacco industry has tried to discourage communities from going smoke-free.

Why Smoke Free Environments?

What if every public place you visited in Denver-including restaurants-had clean, healthy air? And what if parents in our community knew they could bring their kids to any restaurant in town without exposing them to the dangers of secondhand smoke, and every food service professional-from servers to bartenders-could earn a living without being forced to inhale high concentrations of carcinogens?

Sound good? It's a real option. Cities across the country are choosing smoke-free work and public places. They're doing it to protect their kids and protect their workers. Because everyone has the right to breathe air that is free from the dangers of secondhand smoke.

The Hidden Danvers of Seconhand Smoke

Secondhand smoke is dirty, it's dangerous and it's deadly-killing 60,000 nonsmoking Americans each year.

Secondhand smoke is the third leading cause of preventable death in this country and in Colorado. For every eight smokers the tobacco industry kills, it takes one non-smoker with them.1

It contains 4,700 chemicals-including carbon monoxide, hydrogen cyanide, formaldehyde, and arsenic-60 of which are known to cause cancer.

Secondhand smoke is classified as a Group A Carcinogen by the Environmental Protection Agency-a substance known to cause cancer in humans. There is no safe level of exposure.2

And because they are unfiltered, the carcinogens in secondhand smoke are up to 100 times higher than smoke inhaled directly through cigarettes or cigars.

Exposure to these chemicals is dangerous. For kids, exposure to secondhand smoke causes things like ear and respiratory infections. For the rest of us, repeated exposure to secondhand smoke can cause heart disease and lung cancer.

And think about the people who work in smoke-filled environments day-in and day-out. It has been shown that non-smoking workers routinely exposed to significant secondhand smoke triple their risk for lung cancer.3

Restaurant employees in Denver should have a smoke-free environment. Not only does a smoke-free work place increase the chances of those who want to quit, but it reduces their exposure to the harmful chemicals of secondhand smoke.

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1(Glantz, S.A. & Parmley, W., "Passive Smoking and Heart Disease: Epidemiology, Physiology, and Biochemistry," Circulation, 1991; 83(1):1-12; and, Taylor, A., Johnson, D. & Kazemi, H., "Environmental Tobacco Smoke and Cardiovascular Disease," Circulation, 1992; (86): 699-702)
2Respiratory Health Effects of Passive Smoking: Lung Cancer and Other Disorders, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency report, 1992.

3International Journal of Cancer, July 2001.

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