The document discusses the benefits of smoke-free environments. It defines a smoke-free environment as one that is 100% smoke-free without any segregated or ventilated smoking areas. Smoke-free environments are proven to protect people from the health hazards of secondhand smoke. Several countries have implemented laws requiring indoor workplaces and public places to be smoke-free, and these jurisdictions have seen immediate health benefits. In addition to health benefits, smoke-free environments also reduce economic costs from medical expenses and lost productivity due to smoking-related illnesses. The evidence is clear that secondhand smoke poses serious health risks, so public support is growing for requiring 100% smoke-free public indoor areas.
The document discusses the benefits of smoke-free environments. It defines a smoke-free environment as one that is 100% smoke-free without any segregated or ventilated smoking areas. Smoke-free environments are proven to protect people from the health hazards of secondhand smoke. Several countries have implemented laws requiring indoor workplaces and public places to be smoke-free, and these jurisdictions have seen immediate health benefits. In addition to health benefits, smoke-free environments also reduce economic costs from medical expenses and lost productivity due to smoking-related illnesses. The evidence is clear that secondhand smoke poses serious health risks, so public support is growing for requiring 100% smoke-free public indoor areas.
The document discusses the benefits of smoke-free environments. It defines a smoke-free environment as one that is 100% smoke-free without any segregated or ventilated smoking areas. Smoke-free environments are proven to protect people from the health hazards of secondhand smoke. Several countries have implemented laws requiring indoor workplaces and public places to be smoke-free, and these jurisdictions have seen immediate health benefits. In addition to health benefits, smoke-free environments also reduce economic costs from medical expenses and lost productivity due to smoking-related illnesses. The evidence is clear that secondhand smoke poses serious health risks, so public support is growing for requiring 100% smoke-free public indoor areas.
The document discusses the benefits of smoke-free environments. It defines a smoke-free environment as one that is 100% smoke-free without any segregated or ventilated smoking areas. Smoke-free environments are proven to protect people from the health hazards of secondhand smoke. Several countries have implemented laws requiring indoor workplaces and public places to be smoke-free, and these jurisdictions have seen immediate health benefits. In addition to health benefits, smoke-free environments also reduce economic costs from medical expenses and lost productivity due to smoking-related illnesses. The evidence is clear that secondhand smoke poses serious health risks, so public support is growing for requiring 100% smoke-free public indoor areas.
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First of all, let me define smoke-free
environment. The term smoke free environment is
sometimes used indiscriminately to discuss both 100 percent smoke free areas as well as segregated and ventilated area. I believe a smoke-free environment is good for everyone as the scientific evidence leaves no doubt that 100% smoke-free environments, SFEs are the only proven way to adequately protect the health of all people from the devastating effects of second- hand tobacco smoke, SHS. Several countries and hundreds of sub-national and local jurisdictions have reached this conclusion and successfully implemented laws that require almost all indoor workplaces and public places to be 100% smoke-free. These jurisdictions report large and immediate health benefits, showing that SFEs are feasible and realistic in a variety of contexts. In March 2004, Ireland became the first nation in the world to create and enjoy smoke-free indoor workplaces and public places, including restaurants, bars and pubs. Within three months, Norways smoke-free legislation entered into force. Since then, their example has been followed by more countries, such as New Zealand, Italy and Uruguay, territories and many more cities and communities across the globe. Besides, I believe a smoke-free environment is good for everyone as it could steer clear of the chances of Homo sapiens from entering into a portal of universal diseases. Secondhand smoke (SHS) is classified as a known human carcinogen, cancer-causing agent by the US Environmental Protection Agency EPA, the US National Toxicology Program, and the International Agency for
Research on Cancer IARC, a branch of the World Health
Organization. Tobacco smoke is a mixture of gases and particles. It contains more than 7,000 chemical compounds. More than 250 of these chemicals are known to be harmful, and at least 69 are known to trigger the growth of malignant tumor. SHS has been linked to lung carcinoma. There is also some evidence suggesting it might be linked to lymphoma, leukemia, and brain tumors in children, and cancers of the larynx, pharynx, nasal sinuses, brain, bladder, rectum, stomach, and breast in adults. IARC reported in 2009 that parents who smoked before and during pregnancy were more likely to have a child with hepatoblastoma. This rare liver cancer is thought to start while the child is still in the uterus. Compared with non-smoking parents, the risk was about twice as high if only one parent smoked, but nearly 5 times higher when both parents smokes. On the other hand, in the absence of smoke, the environment would be good for everyone as it lessen the burden of the government in the sense economy. The costs of SHS are not just only limited to the burden of disease. Exposure to SHS also imposes economic costs on individuals, businesses and society as a whole. These include primarily direct and indirect medical costs, but also productivity losses. In addition, workplaces where smoking is permitted incur higher renovation and cleaning costs, increased risk of fire and may experience higher insurance premiums. A recent study by the United States Society of Actuaries estimates that SHS exposure results in more than US$ 5 billion in direct medical costs and more than US$ 5 billion in indirect medical costs such as disability, lost wages and related benefits annually in the United States of America.
In Hong Kong, the annual value of direct medical costs,
long- term care and productivity loss due to SHS exposure is estimated to be US$ 156 million. The United States Occupational Safety and Health Administration has estimated that clean air would increase productivity in the USA by 3.5%, saving US employers US$ 15 billion annually. The debate is over. The science is clear. Secondhand smoke is not a mere annoyance but a serious health hazard. In conclusion, the benefits of smoke-free places are undeniable, and the movement to smoke-free environments is growing with unstoppable momentum. Public health actors, non-governmental organizations and other civil society representatives, policy makers, governments and the general public are raising their voices together to ensure workers and the public are protected from exposure to SHS, by creating and enjoying 100% smoke-free environments.