| For Immediate Release September 06, 2006 |
Contact: Jennifer Friedman 202.296.5469 |
Tobacco-Free Kids Action Fund Endorses Phil Mendelson for At-Large D.C. Councilmember
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 Phil Mendelson for At-Large District of Columbia Councilmember. Councilmember Mendelson has been a champion from the very beginning in the long and successful fight to pass the District's new smoke-free workplace law. We are confident he will be a champion 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. As a Councilmember, Phil Mendelson has shown great leadership, tenacity and foresight in protecting the health of all D.C. residents and we have no doubt that he will continue to do so.
Councilmember Mendelson was an original co-sponsor of the D.C. smoke-free workplace legislation and for three years he worked tirelessly to pass a strong smoke-free law. Because of his efforts, many DC workplaces are smoke-free today, and almost all DC workplaces will be smoke-free on January 1, 2007. A vote for Phil Mendelson 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 Councilmember Mendelson will support efforts to effectively implement the smoke-free law and that he 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.
Phil Mendelson recognizes 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. Phil Mendelson recognizes this and has been a champion in addressing this important public health issue. That is why we are endorsing Phil Mendelson for At-Large D.C. Councilmember.
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).