| For Immediate Release October 16, 2006 |
Contact: Jennifer Friedman 202.296.5469 |
Tobacco-Free Kids Action Fund Endorses David Catania for At-Large D.C. Councilmember
Statement of William V. Corr, Executive Director, Tobacco-Free Kids Action Fund
Washington, DC - The Tobacco-Free Kids Action Fund is pleased to announce our endorsement of David Catania for At-Large District of Columbia Councilmember. As Chairman of the Health Committee, Councilmember Catania played a critical role in passing the District's new smoke-free workplace law by moving the bill through his committee. Councilmember Catania also played a critical role in securing funding for the District's tobacco prevention and cessation program. We are confident that David Catania will continue to be a champion for the health of D.C. residents by working to ensure effective implementation of the new smoke-free law so it works as intended to protect the rights of all District workers and families to breathe clean air.
Many DC workplaces are smoke-free today, and almost all DC workplaces will be smoke-free on January 1, 2007. A vote for David Catania 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 Catania 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.
The facts are clear that businesses have nothing to fear from the smoke-free law because of the overwhelming evidence 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. David Catania recognizes this and has been a champion in addressing this important public health issue. That is why we are endorsing David Catania 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).