Pa. legislation targets secondhand smoke loopholes

At a recent health fair at The Rivers Casino, the nonprofit organization Tobacco Free Allegheny took part in an impromptu experiment.

A nonsmoking casino employee had his carbon monoxide levels tested at the beginning of his shift “and he blew a zero,” said the organization’s chief operating officer, Joyce Petrow. After his shift at the casino, where smoking is permitted, the worker was retested. This time, she said, “he blew an 11” — a level typical of a light smoker.

“We are urging the general public to contact their legislator to amend [the state antismoking] law to extend it to casinos and bars, which currently have waivers,” Ms. Petrow said. “But at this point I think it’s an uphill battle. It simply is a low priority, and I think other things are capturing legislators’ attention at the moment.”

Well-established science reveals the adverse health impacts of secondhand smoke and even the maker of Camel and Pall Mall cigarettes is ready to clear the air. Reynolds American Inc. of Winston-Salem, N.C., made the ironic announcement last week that it will institute a partial smoking ban in its offices and headquarters, beginning in January, while smoking lounges are constructed in the buildings.

In Pennsylvania, the company would long be in violation of the 2008 Pennsylvania Clean Indoor Air Act, which bans smoking in public buildings and workplaces.

Waivers are available only for bars whose food revenues are less than 20 percent of total revenues, as well as casinos, tobacco shops and bars with separate entrances at private clubs.

Stewart Greenleaf, R-Montgomery, who sponsored the state’s 2008 anti-smoking bill, said he hopes to close those loopholes but his amendment to the bill remains stuck in the Senate Public Health and Welfare Committee. He said he’ll reintroduce it in 2015 to ban smoking at all drinking establishments, gaming operations, private clubs, residential facilities, fundraisers, tobacco promotion events and full-service truck stops. The law also would ban smoking on outdoor decks, patios or similar outdoor areas of food and drinking establishments.

“I fought to get the [2008] bill passed,” he said. “We’ve saved lives because we did make some concessions in areas of the gambling and liquor industries, which we wouldn’t have been able to overcome. I’m still trying to close those loopholes but I don’t control the committee.”

In 2007, UPMC banned smoking on all of its properties and extended that policy in June to prohibit employees from smoking during work hours, on or off campus, including during lunchtime. The ban recognizes the potential health impacts of third-hand smoke — the smelly, smoky residue on clothes, body and breath that a Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory study in March found to cause DNA damage and cancer in those exposed to it.

A similar policy will take effect Feb. 1 in the Pittsburgh Mercy Health System. Some states prohibit such policies on grounds they are discriminatory.

The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reviewed scientific studies that show how exposure to secondhand smoke causes disease and premature death among nonsmokers.

“There is no risk-free level of secondhand smoke, and even brief exposure can cause immediate harm,” the report states. Prohibiting smoking in bars and restaurants improves the health of workers, including reductions in hospital admissions for heart atacks. Health benefits, the CDC says, begin shortly after such laws take effect.

Reynolds American recognizes that restrictions on smoking “are the norm today” with most people expecting a smoke-free business environment.

“We respect the rights and personal choices of employees who choose to smoke or use other tobacco products and those who don't,” Reynolds American spokesman David Howard told the Associated Press.