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Ways to Limit the <br />Impact of Tobacco in Cities and Counties <br />Nearly 15 years have passed since the landmark 1995 California Smoke-Free <br />Workplace Act (LC 6404.5) was implemented to protect workers from secondhand <br />smoke exposures in most enclosed workplaces. Since that time three significant <br />reports have been released. <br />- The California Air Resources Board declared secondhand tobacco smoke to be a "toxic <br />air contaminant," putting it in the same classification as diesel exhaust, benzene, and <br />arsenic. <br />- The 2006 US Surgeon General's Report on Secondhand Smoke stated that secondhand smoke <br />causes 30 times as many lung cancer deaths as all other regulated air pollutants <br />combined and that there is no safe level of exposure. The report warned that as little as <br />30 minutes of exposure can trigger a fatal heart attack in "otherwise healthy adults." <br />- Outdoor secondhand tobacco smoke air measurement studies conducted in 2007 by <br />Stanford University researchers, found the following: toxins near an outdoor smoker <br />can be 10 times worse than the exhaust from nearby truck and car traffic; smoke from <br />multiple smokers can travel 30-50+ feet away and can exceed US EPA air quality <br />standards. <br />Based on these extensive findings, the American Lung Association, American Cancer Society, <br />American Heart Association, and Public Health advocates are encouraging local governments to <br />increase their protections against tobacco use and secondhand smoke. The following provisions <br />have been passed by a growing number of cities. <br />^ Indoor Air: Closing loopholes in the state smoke-free workplace act - indoor areas not <br />covered (hotel lobbies, beyond 35% of hotel/motel room, banquet rooms, small <br />businesses with <6 employees, 24/7 in private residences used as licensed child care and <br />health care, taxi cabs, tobacco retailers, truck cabs) <br />^ Outdoor air (doorways, parks, service areas, dining, public events, sidewalks, outdoor <br />workplaces) <br />^ Multi-unit Housinl? (common areas, disclosure, nuisance, units) <br />^ Reducin>? Access to Tobacco Products (ban distribution of tobacco products, increase <br />zoning restrictions on tobacco sellers, tobacco retailer license) <br />2/4/2009 <br />AMERICAN LUNG ASSOCIATIONS <br />Compiled by the Bay Area Region of the IN CALIFORNIA <br />