| For Immediate Release August 28, 2006 |
Contact: Jennifer Friedman 202.296.5469 |
Tobacco-Free Kids Action Fund Endorses Adrian Fenty for D.C. Mayor and Kathy Patterson for D.C. Council Chair
Statement of Matthew L. Myers, President, Tobacco-Free Kids Action Fund
Washington, DC - The Tobacco-Free Kids Action Fund is pleased to announce our endorsement of Adrian Fenty for District of Columbia Mayor and Kathy Patterson for D.C. Council Chair. Council Members Fenty and Patterson have been our champions from the very beginning in the long and successful fight to pass the District's new smoke-free workplace law. We are confident they will be champions for effective implementation of the law so it works as intended to protect the rights of all District workers and families to breathe clean air. Adrian Fenty and Kathy Patterson have shown great leadership, tenacity and foresight in protecting the health of all D.C. residents and they will continue to do so as Mayor and Council Chair.
Council Members Fenty and Patterson were both original co-sponsors of the D.C. smoke-free workplace legislation and for three years they worked tirelessly to pass a strong smoke-free law. Because of their efforts, many DC workplaces are smoke-free today, and almost all DC workplaces will be smoke-free on January 1, 2007. Their efforts will mean a healthier District of Columbia for everyone who lives, works and visits the District. A vote for Adrian Fenty for Mayor and Kathy Patterson for Council Chair is a vote for a healthier District and a vote to protect everyone's right to breathe clean, smoke-free air.
We are confident that as Mayor and Council Chair, Adrian Fenty and Kathy Patterson will work to effectively implement the smoke-free law and that they will guard against loopholes that undermine the law. Supporters of the smoke-free law compromised by agreeing to an exemption for businesses that can show the law caused "undue financial hardship." Unfortunately, opponents of the law are trying to expand this narrow exemption into a giant loophole that would allow continued smoking and exposure to harmful secondhand smoke in many workplaces.
Adrian Fenty and Kathy Patterson will stand up for the health of District residents and guard against attempts to weaken the smoke-free law. When the D.C. Council passed the smoke-free bill in January 2006, Council Members Fenty and Patterson both offered amendments aimed at eliminating loopholes. These two leaders recognize that businesses have nothing to fear from the smoke-free law because the evidence is clear from smoke-free states and cities around the country that smoke-free laws protect health without harming business. As the U.S. Surgeon General put it in his recent report on secondhand smoke, "Evidence from peer-reviewed studies shows that smoke-free policies and regulations do not have an adverse impact on the hospitality industry."
The need for protection from secondhand smoke in ALL workplaces and public places has never been clearer. In issuing his groundbreaking report, U.S. Surgeon General Richard Carmona stated, "The debate is over. The science is clear: Secondhand smoke is not a mere annoyance, but a serious health hazard that causes premature death and disease in children and nonsmoking adults." The Surgeon General found that secondhand smoke is a proven cause of lung cancer, heart disease, serious respiratory illnesses such as bronchitis and asthma, low birth weight and sudden infant death syndrome. The Surgeon General also found that secondhand smoke is responsible for tens of thousands of deaths in the United States each year and that there is no risk-free level of exposure. No one should be subject to these serious health risks in order to hold a job or enjoy a night out. Adrian Fenty and Kathy Patterson recognize this and have been our champions in addressing this important public health issue. That is why we are endorsing Adrian Fenty for D.C. Mayor and Kathy Patterson for D.C. Council Chair.
The District of Columbia joins 14 states and Puerto Rico in having a strong smoke-free law that includes restaurants and bars. The states are: California, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, Hawaii (effective Nov. 16), Maine, Massachusetts, Montana, New Jersey, New York, Rhode Island, Utah, Vermont and Washington (the Montana and Utah laws extend to bars in 2009).
The Tobacco-Free Kids Action Fund is a non-partisan 501(c)(4) nonprofit organization that works to reduce the devastating toll of tobacco use and exposure to secondhand smoke by mounting advocacy and electoral campaigns to support anti-tobacco policies. The Action Fund is dedicated to educating voters about positions on tobacco-related issues taken by candidates seeking public office at the state, local and federal level and to advocating for proven solutions to reduce tobacco use and its terrible toll in health, lives and money. For more information visit www.tobaccofreeaction.org.