Passive Smoking

A LITTLE IS DANGEROUS

Short-term exposure to secondhand smoke does real damage, far beyond the stench and irritation. This means hospitality workers (Restaurant and Bar employees) and patrons are at significant risk.
 

	20 minutes exposure = smoking one cigarette…
	30 minutes exposure = stiffened, clogged arteries…
	2 hours exposure = greater risk of irregular heartbeat…
	2 hours exposure = greater risk of irregular heartbeat…

All of these effects not only increase the long-term risks of developing heart disease, but also increases the immediate risk of heart attack.

And if someone suffers a heart attack while breathing secondhand smoke, it will likely be worse.
 

 

 

SECONDHAND SMOKE (SHS)*
HURTS
All Your Loved ones
Children, Family and Pets

Risks:

• SHS is a very serious health threat

• SHS smoke is the third leading cause of preventable death in the United States

• SHS is especially dangerous to children and pregnant women

Risks specific to Children:

• SHS has been shown to be a trigger asthma attacks

• Colds, Flu, bronchitis and pneumonia are made worse by SHS

• SHS has been linked to miscarriages, low birth weight, and SIDS (Sudden Infant Syndrome)

HOW TO PROTECT YOUR LOVED ONES

• Make your home smoke free

• Make your car smoke free

• Go to non-smoking restaurants

• Limit the amount of time your baby is held by smokers

SPEAK OUT, YOU HAVE THE RIGHT TO SMOKE FREE AIR

• Talk to smokers and explain that you and your children don’t want to breathe SHS

• Tell restaurants how important it is to have smoke free air

• Open windows if someone is smoking near you in your house or car

*SHS, Environmental Tobacco Smoke and Passive smoke are all terms for smoke breathed by people who are smoking cigarettes, cigars, or pipe tobacco and contains over 4,000 chemical some of which are known to cause canc

Why is passive smoking a health and safety issue?

What is passive smoking?

According to the International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC Monographs Volume 83 Tobacco Smoke and Involuntary Smoking June 2002),

"Involuntary (or passive) smoking is exposure to secondhand tobacco smoke, which is a mixture of exhaled mainstream smoke and sidestream smoke released from the smouldering cigarette or other smoking device (cigar, pipe, bidi, etc.) and diluted with ambient air. Involuntary smoking involves inhaling carcinogens (cancer causing agents), as well as other toxic components, that are present in secondhand tobacco smoke. Secondhand tobacco smoke is sometimes referred to as "environmental" tobacco smoke."

The effects of passive smoking

Passive smoking is increasingly recognized as a workplace hazard and a threat to people's welfare. Many countries now consider environmental tobacco smoke (ETS) a carcinogen. The World Health Organization (WHO) and the International Agency for Research on Cancer have also declared ETS as carcinogenic. According to the World Health Organisation's 'Tobacco Free Initiative,'
"While the tobacco industry continues to claim that the evidence that passive smoking causes disease - particularly lung cancer - is controversial, every independent authoritative scientific body that has examined the evidence has concluded that passive smoking causes many diseases."

Cancer

The International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC) has reviewed all significant published evidence related to both active and passive tobacco smoking and cancer. The Agency concludes that, "Non-smokers are exposed to the same carcinogens as active smokers. Even the typical levels of passive exposure have been shown to cause lung cancer among never smokers. Second-hand tobacco smoke IS carcinogenic to humans."IARC Monographs Volume 83 Tobacco Smoke and Involuntary Smoking (June 2002) also refers to analyses of lung cancer in never smokers exposed to secondhand tobacco smoke at the workplace. These have found a statistically significant increased risk of lung cancer of 16 to 19 per cent. Heart disease
According to the World Health Organization’s 'Tobacco Free Initiative,'
"While most discussions about passive smoking have concentrated on lung cancer and breathing, the effects on heart disease are more important. The chemicals in secondhand smoke poison the heart muscle, interfere with the ability of blood vessels to adjust themselves to control blood pressure and flow, increase the buildup of blockages of blood vessels (which lead to heart attacks), and make blood stickier. The net effect is that there are about 15 times more deaths from heart disease caused by passive smoking - 35,000-62,000 deaths annually in the US - as lung cancer."
Another report also analyses the link between passive smoking and heart disease. A Summary of the Report entitled "The Health Effects of Environmental Tobacco Smoke (ETS) in the Workplace (December 2002) commissioned by the Health and Safety Authority (HSA) in Ireland stated that,

"The general consensus among government/scientific agencies is that ETS causes heart disease. Involuntary smoking increases the risk of heart disease in non smokers by between 25% and 30%."

Other diseases

Most health agencies consider that exposure of pregnant women to ETS causes lower birth weight in their babies. For people with asthma, ETS can cause serious health problems and cigarette smoke is a common trigger of asthma attacks. Scientists from the Finnish Institute of Occupational Health in Helsinki say that they have produced the first hard evidence to prove that passive smoking does play a role in the development of adult asthma.

Controversy over a recent study

Campaigners and authorities, including the British TUC, have attacked a report partly funded by the tobacco industry, which concluded that passive smoking might not increase the risk of heart disease and lung cancer by as much as has been claimed. The study in the British Medical Journal in 2003 said the link between these conditions and exposure to second-hand smoke may be weaker than generally believed. Previous research has suggested that exposure to environmental tobacco smoke could increase the risk of heart disease by 30%. However, the British Medical Association criticized the study because it only re-analyzed a small part of data from a study that was dropped by its original funders, the American Cancer Society. The BMA said,

"It would be wrong to be swayed by one flawed study funded by the tobacco industry. There is overwhelming evidence, built up over decades, that passive smoking causes lung cancer and heart disease, as well as triggering asthma attacks."

Workers in the leisure and hospitality industry

The biggest area of concern is amongst workers who work in the leisure and hospitality industry. Their exposure to ETS is high as they are exposed to second-hand smoke from clients and customers. It is estimated that around 3 million people in the UK are exposed to ETS. Across the EU this figure rises to around 30 million. Workers in the leisure industry, who are most affected by workplace smoke, make up around 5 to 10% of this figure.

A report from University College London measured the levels of exposure to passive smoking amongst London's non-smoking bar workers. It states that bar workers take in amounts of environmental tobacco smoke over 10 times higher than the average non-smoker. Professor Martin Jarvis, from University College London, measured the levels of exposure to passive smoking amongst London's non-smoking bar workers. He found they were subject to 'extremely high exposure' to smoke. Further research from Norway states that waiters and barkeepers have a significantly higher risk of developing lung cancer compared to other occupations.

The Irish Health and Safety Authority (HSA) report concludes that bar staff and other hospitality workers are likely to have higher and more sustained exposure to ETS than other occupational groups. The report points to other studies suggesting:

• An increased risk of lung cancer for waiters, bartenders and counter workers;
   

• An increased lung cancer risk as high as 50% for food-service workers;
   

• An estimated 6,000 catering workers out of a workforce of 200,000 dying from passive smoking due to heart disease and lung cancer.

Effects on employment

A lot of the debate currently is about smoking in public places - particularly the leisure sector. Unions representing workers in these industries want their members protected, especially by providing smoke free areas. But they are also concerned about the effect on their employment. Opponents of smoking restrictions say that if people are not allowed to smoke, they will abandon pubs and clubs, whereas proponents suggest that smoking restrictions would actually increase trade.

Two recent investigations have looked at this in more depth:

• A 2003 survey of bar and restaurant owners in five European countries (Belgium, Finland, France, Germany and Spain) found that there is no loss of income as a result of taking protective measures against ETS. The research, entitled "Non-smokers protection in restaurants and bars in Europe" was conducted by the European Network for Smoking Prevention. It also found that nearly three-quarters of interviewees (owners, leaseholders and employees) saw clear benefits from having a smoke free area in the bar or restaurant. The benefits were to protect the health of customers, owners and employees and to respond to increasing demand from customers.
   

• The British TUC-backed magazine Hazards found that smoking bans in pubs and cafes would protect the health of thousands of UK hospitality workers, and result in increased profits for landlords and restaurant owners. The investigation, 'Smoke screen', looks at a new analysis of 97 smoking studies carried out in eight countries. It suggests that the most rigorous and independent studies find that bans have had no negative impact on the profits of pubs, clubs, and eateries. The same analysis reveals that all existing studies pointing to negative impacts on trade worldwide, are funded by sources in some way related to the tobacco industry.

As restrictions on smoking in the workplace become more common, unions also have to assist smoking workers. Some may face penalties because of their smoking, or they may need places where they can smoke, in the same way as non-smokers have in the past needed smoke-free areas. These considerations are a part of negotiating a smoking policy at work (see Fact Sheets 4-6 below).

Smoking costs employers' money

Employers bear direct and indirect costs as a result of employees' smoking. According to the World Bank, Health, Nutrition and Population web site (July 2002), the costs include:

• more employee absenteeism;
   

• decreased productivity;
   

• increased early retirement due to ill health;
   

• higher health care costs and higher health insurance costs;
   

• higher maintenance and cleaning costs;
   

• higher risk of fire damage;
   

• higher fire insurance premiums.

Smoking in the workplace - a trade union checklist

• Smoking is one of the most important causes of preventable diseases and early deaths;
   

• Many workers are very concerned about the numerous effects of environmental tobacco smoke (ETS) upon their health;
   

• There are particular concerns about ETS in the leisure and hospitality industry, where workers' health is at great risk from customers who smoke;
   

• ETS is a risk to workers and their employers have legal responsibilities to prevent ill health resulting from ETS in the workplace;
   

• It is important for trade unions to avoid divisions between workers over the 'right' to breathe smoke-free air as against the 'right' to smoke;
   

• Many employers are implementing smoking policies, so it is important for trade unions to take the initiative and ensure that the policies are in the interests of workers;
   

• Legal and workplace policy developments on smoking can have implications for workers' terms and conditions of employment, for example, disciplinary measures. Trade unions will need to be involved in procedural developments to ensure that workers are treated fairly.

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