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Tag: ban on smoking

  • Majority Supports Banning Smoking in Vehicles Kids are in

    In many places across the U.S., cigarette smokers are relegated to the outdoors and their own property. A new public health movement, however, is now looking to protect children from second hand smoke in cars.

    A new poll conducted by the University of Michigan Health System has shown that 82% of American adults support a ban on smoking in vehicles that contain children under the age of 13. Moreover, 87% of adults support a ban on smoking in any business place where children are allowed. 75% even support a ban on smoking in homes that contain children with asthma.

    “Smoke is a real health hazard for kids whose lungs are still developing, and especially for kids who have illnesses like asthma where the lungs are particularly fragile and flare up when exposed to secondhand smoke,” said Dr. Matthew Davis, director of the C.S. Mott Children’s Hospital National Poll on Children’s Health and a professor of pediatrics at Michigan’s medical school.

    Seven states (Louisiana, Arkansas, California, Illinois, Oregon, Utah, and Maine) currently have laws banning smoking in cars that contain children. The American Academy of Pediatrics began calling for legislation banning the practice in 2007.

    “Given the high level of public support for laws prohibiting smoking in vehicles with children in this poll, it may be that the bans enacted by a small number of states should be considered by many more states, and perhaps at the national level,” said Davis.

    “Forty of the 50 states currently ban smoking in public places in one form or another. At this time, we are not aware of laws at this time that prohibit smoking in homes where children have asthma or other lung conditions. However, the level of public support for ways to reduce children’s exposure to secondhand smoke is so high that now may be the time to for public health officials and legislators to move forward on ideas like these to protect children’s health,”

  • Hospitals Refusing to Hire Smokers a Growing Trend

    As of July 1, two Philadelphia hospitals, the University of Pennsylvania Hospital and the Children’s Hospital of Pennsylvania, will join dozens of healthcare systems nationwide in refusing to hire smokers.

    The move has generated criticism from many quarters. Civil liberties activists have protested the intrusion into personal affairs and have theorized that the practice could force smokers to go to greater lengths to hide their smoking, thereby making them less likely to seek help in quitting. Others have pointed out the fairly obvious irony that a heavy drinker or junk food devotee would remain unaffected by the policy, despite contributing equally to the ills the policy is meant to address.

    A study earlier this year found that employers are losing, on average, $6,000 per year per smoker hired. The figure looked not only at increased health insurance premiums but also lost productivity and absenteeism (i.e., smoke breaks).

    Ralph Muller, speaking on behalf of the University of Pennsylvania Health System, said Penn was focusing on smoking rather than similar issues due to the fact that anti-smoking policies are backed by more than “50 years of science.” Apparently other lifestyle choice-related health problems—those associated with obesity, alcohol, or heroin use—don’t have the research to back up employment discrimination.

    The new policy will only affect new hires, and it’s unclear what enforcement procedures the hospitals will implement. At the moment, it seems they’re leaning toward the honor system.

    Other employers have had much more aggressive anti-tobacco enforcement procedures. Alaska Airlines requires all potential employees to have been nicotine-free for six months prior to employment—and makes prospective employees submit to a drug test to prove it. So, yeah, even that cigar on guys’ night—or the use of nicotine gum—will keep you from standing at an Alaska Airlines ticket counter.