Smoke-Free: An Email Sent Regarding NC House Bill 2 : Prohibit Smoking in Public and Work Places

This is cross-posted from Bloviations.

The text of an email I sent to North Carolina House of Representatives members George Cleveland, Robert Grady and Russell Tucker in support of House Bill 2 (Prohibit Smoking in Public & Work Places).

I strongly urge you, dear readers that live in NC, to write your House representatives and support this legislation. Feel free to use my own email as a starting point.

I am writing to express my full support for Representative Holliman’s House Bill 2 (Prohibit Smoking in Public and Work Places).

Second-hand cigarette smoke is a leading cause in respiratory ailments for employees who work in businesses that allow smoking. Given that most of these workplaces are restaurants and bars, these same employees are low-paid and often are not provided health insurance. These employees have an increased level of absenteeism and a decreased level of productivity because of their working environment. Exposure to second-hand smoke causes nearly 50,000 deaths in non-smokers annually. It causes between 150,000 to 300,000 lower respiratory infections in children and up to 15,000 hospitalizations per year. Prohibiting smoking in restaurants would improve productivity, increase work attendance and provide a higher-level of overall health, while decreasing the already-too-high load on North Carolina’s straining health care system. It is estimated that exposure to second-hand smoke costs nearly $10,000,000,000 in direct and indirect medical costs.

Many legislators believe that smoking bans have a detrimental affect on local economies. Nothing could be further from the truth. Nearly half of the states in the U.S. have established smoking bans without serious economic results. Smoking bans in New York and Pennsylvania have not only been shown to have not adversely affected the revenues of restaurants, but most businesses have seen an increase as families and non-smokers are more comfortable dining out in the cleaner environment. A smoking ban in North Carolina could provide a much-needed stimulus to local economies and would be inexpensive to implement.

The science, medical and economic, is clear: Smoking bans are healthier, create cleaner and safer working conditions and provide an economic boost. I strongly support this measure and hope that you will, as well. I urge you to work with your fellow legislators to get this much-needed bill passed.

Your constituent,

Thomas Brock