Sample letters to the editor: secondhand smoke state policy

Ban smoking in all public places
According to American Heart Association statistics, more than 250,000 Americans die prematurely each year from cardiovascular disease (CVD). Scientific research estimates that secondhand smoke is the second leading cause of preventable death in Michigan.

We know that an individual’s risk of CVD increases approximately 30 percent when they are repeatedly exposed to secondhand smoke.

I urge our state policymakers to think about the health of our residents and support state laws that would ban smoking in all workplaces and public places, including restaurants and bars.

The toll of secondhand smoke
As many as 2,510 Michigan residents die every year from secondhand smoke.

In any other situation where we knew that our residents were being killed at this rate we would do anything within our power to stop it.

Our state legislators have an opportunity to do something to reduce this number. I encourage them to do what is right for the health and well-being of our residents and to support state laws that prohibit smoking in restaurants, bars and worksites.

Health effects of secondhand smoke
Secondhand smoke is a major cause of chronic illness and disability such as emphysema, asthma, and respiratory infection. 

Just as we expect workplace protection from other deadly toxins like asbestos, benzene, and lead, why should people not be given common sense workplace protection from this preventable cause of disease and death?

Even a half hour of exposure to secondhand smoke dramatically increases a person’s short-term risk of heart attack. This is a result of the immediate effect secondhand smoke has on the cardiovascular system of nonsmokers. 

Nonsmokers regularly exposed to secondhand smoke suffer death rates 30 percent higher than that of unexposed nonsmokers.

Studies show that smoke-free policies work. They protect the health of nonsmokers, who make up over 75% of Michigan’s population, and also benefit employees working in environments that are not currently work smoke-free.  Employees who work in smoke-free environments are healthier, suffer less absenteeism, and file fewer workers’ compensation claims.  Employee turnover is less frequent, reducing the associated training costs. In addition, many insurance companies discount their fire, property, and health policy premiums for smoke-free workplaces.

Michigan needs clean indoor air regulations - for the health of our citizens and to reduce exposure to the harms of secondhand smoke. I urge our elected officials to do the right thing and support laws that increase smoke-free environments in our state.

Preemption Letter
Communities should be able to protect their resident’s health. Unfortunately, Michigan law ties the hands of communities to protect their residents from one of the biggest health risks of all—secondhand smoke.

Exposure to secondhand smoke is a serious health risk. It is second only to tobacco use as a preventable cause of death in Michigan. Still, in many cases nonsmokers cannot avoid it, especially employees and patrons of bars and restaurants.

Preemption is a legislative scheme which strips local governments of authority over certain issues. In Michigan, preemption in state law prohibits local governments from passing laws that affect smoking in bars and restaurants, posing a serious health threat to residents.

Not surprisingly, preemption is partly the work of the tobacco industry to keep the battle over tobacco use away from the community level. Polling consistently shows the public’s support for local control and its disdain for the tobacco industry’s political interference.

Restoring local control to governments makes sense, regardless of the issue at hand, as does protecting people from the dangers of secondhand smoke.

Legislation Options letter
We need to encourage our state representatives and senators to take action on policy changes to address the problem of secondhand smoke.  There are several state policy changes that could be made to protect our citizens from exposure to secondhand smoke, which is second only to tobacco use as a preventable cause of death in Michigan

The most comprehensive approach would be to follow in the footsteps of Delaware, Florida, New York, Vermont and other states that have passed smoke-free workplace legislation.  This would provide the largest number of Michigan workers and others with healthy, smoke-free environments.

Another proposal would be to ban smoking in restaurants and bars statewide.  Such a policy would protect the employees and customers of restaurants and bars from the dangerous effects of secondhand smoke.

A proposal to allow local governments that want to ban smoking in restaurants and bars in their communities to do so should also be considered.  Under current law, local governments are preempted from doing this.

Secondhand smoke is a serious health problem and I hope that policymakers from across the state will come together to reduce the toll secondhand smoke takes in our state.