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Clark County Residents Want Smoke Free Air - Press Release FOR RELEASE: Dec. 7, 2007
ITPC Media Team (317) 554-6357 or (317) 502-8536
CLARK COUNTY RESIDENTS WANT AND ENJOY SMOKE FREE AIR
Survey results show public support for all smoke free workplaces
CLARK COUNTY, Ind. - Nearly 70 percent of adults in Clark County would support a law providing smoke free workplaces in Clarksville, including restaurants and bars, according to a recent survey.
The information is contained in a public opinion poll of Clark County adults about their current tobacco use, knowledge, behaviors and attitudes regarding smoking in public places. The Survey Research Center at Indiana University - Purdue University Indianapolis was commissioned by Clark County Tobacco Prevention and Cessation Coalition to conduct the survey.
The survey also showed that 73 percent of Clark County adult residents favor the smoke-free ordinance already in effect for Jeffersonville.
"This survey shows that the people of Clark County support smoke-free workplace protection from secondhand smoke in Jeffersonville and would like to see smoke free law for all workplaces for Clarksville," says Jim Wolf, director, Survey Research Center Director at IUPUI.
"We are proud of Jeffersonville's decision to clear the air and want to protect more Clark County workers by passing a 100% smoke free workplace law in all Clark County communities" says, Andi Hannah, coordinator for the Clark County Tobacco Prevention and Cessation Coalition.
Clarksville councilman, Kelly Conn, has announced his intention to introduce a smoke-free workplace ordinance. The ordinance is being promoted as a public health issue, especially for employees who are subject to the ill effects of second-hand smoke in their workplace. "Clarksville has been progressive in advancing economic development in the area and this data supports that now is the time to improve the health and welfare of our community", says Conn. "There has never been a better time to introduce this ordinance."
The survey found that 84 percent of all residents agree that all workers should be protected from exposure to secondhand smoke in the workplace. Interestingly, 65 percent of smokers also agreed that workers receive the same protection.
Three-fourths of residents (77 percent) agree that public places, restaurants, and bars would be healthier environments for everyone if they were smoke free. Almost half (43 percent) of smokers agreed.
"Across the country, thousands of communities have taken a positive step forward and made their workplaces, including restaurants and bars, smoke free for the benefit of everyone's good health. In Indiana, 27 municipalities have adopted effective smoke free air ordinances. As a result, more than 28 percent of the population in Indiana is protected from secondhand smoke due to a local law compared to just zero percent in 2000," she added. "ITPC supports Clarksville in its efforts to protect all workers from secondhand smoke," says Karla Sneegas, Indiana Tobacco Prevention and Cessation (ITPC) executive director. The 2006 U.S. Surgeon General's Report concluded there is no risk-free level of exposure to secondhand smoke. The report, entitled The Health Consequences of Involuntary Exposure to Tobacco Smoke, finds that even brief secondhand smoke exposure can cause immediate harm. The report says the only way to protect nonsmokers from the dangerous chemicals in secondhand smoke is to eliminate smoking indoors. Secondhand smoke, the third leading preventable cause of death, contains more than 4,000 unfiltered chemical compounds including 250 poisonous chemicals and more than 43 compounds known to cause cancer. Secondhand smoke kills 50,000 non-smokers in the U.S. each year. In 1993 the Environmental Protection Agency classified secondhand smoke as a Group A (Human) Carcinogen putting it in the same classification as asbestos.
The survey was a random-digit-dial telephone survey resulting in a sample that is representative of all adults in Clark County, with more than half of the sample from Jeffersonville and Clarksville residents. It was conducted by professional interviewers at the Survey Research Center at IUPUI. The maximum margin of error for the sample is +/-4.0 at the 95 percent confidence interval.
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