The URL can be used to link to this page

Home My WebLink AboutCOM 0746.023 2000-2002 39 IP-~}~,~ SPA Hilo, I3~~ii 96720 Phomme: (808) 935-1206 FAX: (808) 935-7474 ~ wwvw.ala haw~aii.org O~ ~ll ~Y~tn ~estirrlony f®r 13611 260 I~eblala~ ®d®, Amerlc~ln ~~rlg A~®clatlt:rl ®ff ~iawail °~a~esday, Se~~e~ 2~, 20®2 Good afternoon rrler»bers of the ~iurrlan Services and ~conornac Cevelopment Committee. I am Debbie ®do, ®irector of l`obacco Control, from the American Lung Association of Hawaii. 'rhe American Lung Association of Hawaii believes by passing an ordinance that protects people in the workplace and public place from lmnvironmental `Tobacco Smoke (~1"S) is supporting the isealtt~ and m~lfare of gr®ur c~anstituents. Reliable studies have shown that breathing ~~CS is a cause of disease, including lung cancer, in healthy nonsmokers. At specie! risk are children, elderly people, individuals with cardiovascular disease, and individuals with unpaired respiratory function, including asthmatics and those with obstructive airway disease. 'rhe American Lung Association of Hawaii believes asmoke-free ordinance 4hat includes restaurants; bars and bowling alleys especially protect women r~rkers, since worrrert rvragr Werra three tirrres the risk sterrelopirrg lung cancer compared to women in a smoke-free workplace. Conceivably the situation ray be a worker is anon-smoker who Bores vsath a smoker, thereby having twice the risk of getting lung cancer. Add to that working in a smoking r~nvironment, which triples the person's risk of lung cancer. I'm in contract with a lung cancer patient who did not smoke and has no genealogy of lung and heart disease. fired Volgeskesang is suffering with his disease due to his exposure to secondhand smo6ce in ttae w®rkplace. isn't one lung cancer victim one too many? bile disease at#ects his family, business, friends, and cornl~lunity service affiliates. fihe American Lung Association of Hawaii appreciates your leadership in taking such a positive stance in addressing this critical public health issue, and the Arrlerican Lung Association of Hawaii looks forward to a Hawaii ordirlar~ that leads the way isor-the tlealtla anti pr®t of l~ai county. `fPlank y®u for the o Wily to t . Sho~lk! you Have any qu~stir~ns, you care reach me at 0013) 53?-~9~ x05 or el~lail rn~le at xttabacco hawaii.orei. Since ly, ~.:r ~ VYhen Y®~ can't Debbie ®do breathe, ®irector ®f Tobacco Control N®thlr~g ~#se Matter' Coate *f~b P®una®d ;n 19oa, tho ~r ite N®. American Laang Association iacludes afffiliatsd ~f. sssociationa throeaghoeat the U.S., and a medical section, eh® American def. Il~te `Thoracic Society. Page 1 of 2 T013ACC® Prom: SECTRY2 Sent: Tuesday, September 17, 2002 9:40 AM fro: TOBACCO Subject: PW: [JoeCherner-Announce]Passive Smoke Worse in Workplace Than in -----Original Message----- Fw®r~: Joe Cherner [mailto:Joe@smokefree.org] Secret: Monday, September 16, 2002 11:50 AM fi®: JoeCherner-Announce@smokescr~n.org subscribed as lung@pixi.com Subjects [JoeCherner-Announce]Passive Smoke Worse in Workplace Than in Home E,x Reuters Piealth fQCOdati. ~assiv~ ~r~oke 919lorse irr>i 1PVorkplac~ Tharr~ in di®rr~e ~y Alison McCook Friday, August 30, 2002 NSW YORK (Reuters Health) - A research report from Europe concludes that women who are exposed to tobacco smoke in the workplace have a higher risk of developing lung cancer than those who live with a smoking spouse. Although people who lived with a smoker had almost twice the risk of lung cancer as those without a puffing partner, the risk of lung cancer increased almost threefold for people who worked with smokers compared with those who worked in s smokefree environment. Previous studies have shown that people who inhale smoke produced by their smoking neighbors have a higher than average risk of lung cancer, and the current study findings support past results, according to study author ®r. Michaels Kreuter of the Institute of Radiation Hygiene in Neuherberg, Germany. People "should avoid passive smoke exposure at home or at public places," Kreuter told Reuters Health. "They should avoid working for many years in high-risk occupations and industries snd also those with suspected lung (cancer-causing agents)," such as those used in the wood or printing industry. The researchers base their findings on interviews with 234 women who had been diagnosed with lung cancer and 535 of their cancer-free peers about exposure to passive cigarette smoke at home and at work. None of the women reported having smoked more than X00 cigarettes in their lifetime, and only a few said they were former, light smokers. The investigators found that women who said they had worked in smoke-filled environments were almost three times as likely as those whose workplaces were smoke free to develop lung cancer. In contrast, women whose spouses smoked appeared to be less than twice as likely as those who lived with non-puffing partners to be diagnosed with the disease. In addition, Kreuter and colleagues found that women who worked for more than 10 years in 9123/02 Page 2 of 2 an occupation that involved use of substances that have been linked to lung cancer were twice as likely as women employed in other occupations to develop the disease. In terms of why exposure to smoke at work may be worse for people than exposure to smoke at home, the researcher added that the study did not measure how many smokers were present at work, only how much time study participants spent in a smoke-filBed workplace. "It is possible that at work there are more smokers, while at home there may be only one person who smokes," Kreuter said. Kreuter noted that the risks of cancer in women from home and workplace tobacco exposure are probably equally applicable to men. SOU~C~: International Journal of Cancer 2002;100:706-713. To send a letter in support of smokefree workplaces, go to www.smokefree oro Joseph W. Cherner, President Smokel=ree Imducational Services, Inc. http:/Jwww.smokefree org "Never doubt that a small group of thoughtFul citizens can change the world. Indeed, it's the only thing that ever has." IVlargaret IVlead ~o search the JoeCherner-Announce archives, go to: http://smokescreen.orca/?JoeCherner-Announce To unsubscribe, send any message from lung@pixi.com to JoeCherner-Announce-unsubscribe~smokescreen org If you Haould like to help prevent another generation of tobacco addiction and disease, go to v~+.SmokefreeAir.org and send a smokefree ~Z-letter to a key decision Note: You are subscribed as lung~pixi.coaro~ (I®: 6011 9/23102 _