CLEAN AIR WORKS -- WHO WE ARE

Local boards of public health, Boston Hotel Workers Union Local 26, workers, and  non-profit organizations and employers -- including restaurant & bar owners -- joining together to improve the health among workers and the public by calling for smoke-free workplaces.

CAW is a regional approach for
(1) educating communities about secondhand smoke and
(2) securing smoke-free worksites, including restaurants & bars, for all workers.

Among our coalition are:
Boards of Health in Boston, Brookline, Cambridge, Chelsea, Everett, Malden, Medford, Newton, Revere, Saugus, Somerville and Watertown.
Hotel & Restaurant Employees Union, Local 26
American Lung Association, Asthma & Allergy Foundation of American
Bay State Community Services
MA Association of Health Boards
The Medical Foundation
Healthy Malden
Boston Urban Asthma Coalition

CLEAN AIR WORKS

• CAW unites health departments of communities in and around Boston & Cambridge to work together to secure protection for all workers from exposure to secondhand smoke.
• CAW will produce, distribute and make available information, including a paid advertising campaign, that will assist local efforts.

THE FACTS ON SECONDHAND SMOKE

A recent poll conducted in the communities that are part of this coalition found that the public knows secondhand smoke is a major health risk and and supports policies that prevent secondhand smoke in worksites, including restaurants and bars.

Key findings from a recent poll of Boston area residents:

• 80% of those surveyed, including 2/3 of all smokers, believe that secondhand smoke is "a serious health risk to nonsmokers."
• Nearly all residents believe smoking should either be banned or restricted to separate designated areas in the workplace (96%).
• If smoke-free worksite legislation were to pass, most area residents would go out to restaurants either the same amount (72%) or more often (17%) than they do now, compared to just 10% who say they would go out to eat less often.

Why is secondhand smoke dangerous?

• The EPA classifies secondhand smoke as a Class A carcinogen, containing over 4,000 chemical compounds, including 43 cancer-causing chemicals.
• Nonsmokers who are exposed to secondhand smoke absorb nicotine and other compounds just as smokers do, and the greater the exposure, the greater the level of these harmful compounds in the body.
• The National Institute of Health lists secondhand smoke as a known human carcinogen, indicating that exposure to secondhand smoke can cause cancer.
• Heart disease, lung cancer, and other cancers caused by exposure to secondhand smoke result in an estimated 53,000 deaths annually in the US.

Exposure to secondhand smoke is greater in certain worksites.

• Bar and restaurant workers face a 50% greater risk of lung cancer and endure levels of secondhand smoke 4-6 times greater than found in the home of a smoker.
• Waitresses have the highest lung cancer rates among working women.
• According to government estimates, 83% of worker-health complaints related to problems with indoor-air quality would be eliminated with the creation of smoke-free workplaces.
• Over the next 45 years, smoke-free workplaces could prevent over 32,000 cancer deaths and over 75,000 heart disease deaths.

CLEAN AIR WORKS campaign to promote regional effort for smoke-free worksites, including Restaurants & Bars.

Boston, MA:  Representatives from local Boards of Health, prominent health advocacy organizations, and the Boston Hotel Workers Union, Local 26 joined together this morning at Bakey's Restaurant & Bar to announce the launch of the Clean Air Works campaign. The campaign brings 12 contiguous Boston-area cities and towns together to support public health, and work collectively to secure smoke-free worksites, including restaurants and bars.

“We're launching an important, groundbreaking effort today,” said John Auerbach, Executive Director of the Boston Public Health Commission. “A regional approach is the best way to advance smoke-free worksites in and around Boston.”

The goal of the campaign is to raise awareness of the dangers of deadly second-hand smoke in the workplace, and to secure smoke-free workplaces for all workers in the participating cities & towns. Clean Air Works will produce and distribute information, including a paid advertising campaign, that will assist local efforts.

“It is my job to reduce public health risks,” said John O'Brien, Commissioner of the Cambridge Public Health Department.  “We have regulations which protect people from dangerous airborne substances like asbestos and benzene.  We believe secondhand smoke should be treated the same way.”

The National Institute of Health and the Environmental Protection Agency classify secondhand smoke as a Class-A carcinogen and indicate that exposure to secondhand smoke can cause cancer.  According to a 1998 report, heart disease, lung cancer, and other cancers caused by exposure to secondhand smoke result in an estimated 53,000 deaths in the US annually.

Area workers are already lending support to Clean Air Works.

“Local 26 always fights for justice, dignity and respect for hotel workers,” said Janice Loux, President of the Boston Hotel Workers Union, Local 26, whose membership includes 5,800 workers in Boston and Cambridge.  “We are proud to be part of this coalition, and we'll do everything possible to protect our members' health by supporting efforts to make their workplaces safe and smoke-free.”

Exposure to secondhand smoke is greater in certain worksites. Bar and restaurant workers face a 50% greater risk of lung cancer and endure levels of secondhand smoke 4-6 times greater than found in the home of a smoker.

“I've been a bartender in Boston for over a decade.  Why should my job description include tolerance for a high risk of cancer?” asked John, a Boston bartender who attended today's event to lend his support.

A recent poll of the communities that make up the Clean Air Works coalition shows public support for policies that prevent secondhand smoke in worksites, including restaurants and bars. Nearly all residents (96%) believe smoking should either be banned or restricted in the workplace.  Smoke-free restaurants and bars may see an increase in business when the policies are put in place.  According to the poll, most area residents would go out to restaurants either the same amount (72%) or more often (17%) than they do now if smoke-free worksite legislation were to pass.

“This campaign is about health and safety in the workplace,” said Matt Shelter of Kiley & Company, the firm that conducted the poll on behalf of the MA Coalition for a Healthy Future. “This poll clearly shows that people know that secondhand smoke is a health hazard, and they don't want that deadly smoke in the workplace, even if that workplace is a restaurant or bar.”

Last year, the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court upheld the authority of cities and towns to enact local laws that prohibit smoking.  The Court also made note of the scientific support linking secondhand smoke to adverse health effects and stated that public health matters that affect local communities can be regulated locally.

Cheryl Sbarra of the Massachusetts Association of Health Boards works on smoke-free regulations in cities and town throughout the Commonwealth.  “The Clean Air Works campaign allows communities to share resources and work together to achieve healthy workplaces.  This regional approach is a natural progression on the work individual communities have made across the state,” said Sbarra.

The Clean Air Works coalition brings together local cities and towns to improve the health of their workers and citizens.  Current members include the Boards of Health and Health Departments from Boston, Brookline, Cambridge, Chelsea, Everett, Malden, Medford, Newton, Revere, Saugus, Somerville, and Watertown.  Other Coalition members include the American Cancer Society, American Heart Association, American Lung Association, Asthma & Allergy Foundation, MA Association of Health Boards, Mass Medical Society and the Boston Hotel Workers Union, Local 26.

Contact: Nick Lorenzen 617 424-6511 or Dave Newman 617-424-6511