Resolution 04-02  

Prohibiting Smoking in All Workplaces

Whereas tobacco use is the single largest cause of preventable death killing over 8,000 Washingtonians each year and costing $1.3 billion, and

Whereas secondhand smoke is the third leading cause of preventable death killing over 3,000 Washingtonians each year, and

Whereas the Washington State Public Health Association supports preventing and decreasing tobacco use and reducing exposure to secondhand smoke, and

Whereas the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommends implementing smoking bans as a best practice for reducing tobacco use and reducing secondhand smoke exposure, and

Whereas seven states –California, Delaware, Maine, Massachusetts, Connecticut, Rhode Island and New York– and several countries including Ireland, New Zealand, and Sweden and many communities across America have passed bans on smoking in all workplaces including restaurants and bars, and

Whereas at least five more states including Washington, Arizona, Minnesota, Colorado, and Maryland have plans to introduce smoke-free workplace legislation including restaurants and bars, and

Whereas Washington state’s 1985 Clean Indoor Air Act notes that “…it is necessary to prohibit smoking in public places…in order to protect the health and welfare of citizens,” and

Whereas even the Philip Morris Tobacco Company concedes that “conclusions of public health officials concerning environmental tobacco smoke are sufficient to warrant measures that regulate smoking in public places,” and

Whereas workers who work in smoke-filled restaurants have cancer rates four times that of people who work in office buildings where smoking is prohibited, and

Whereas workers should not be forced to choose between having a job and protecting their health,

Now Therefore Be It Resolved that the Washington State Public Health Association supports local and statewide bans on smoking in all workplaces, and

Be It Further Resolved that WSPHA shall communicate this support as widely as possible, enjoining the Washington State Legislature to protect all workers by prohibiting smoking in all workplaces.