New JAMA Study Finds Scotland’s Smoke-Free Law Quickly Improved Bar Workers’ Health; Shows Why All countries Should Enact Smoke-Free Law
A new study published in the October 11 issue of the prestigious Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA) finds that bar workers in Scotland showed significant improvements in respiratory health and lung function within one month after that country’s smoke-free workplace law took effect on March 26, 2006.
Health advocates said the study is important new evidence that smoke-free workplace laws provide significant and immediate health benefits. The study, together with the overwhelming evidence that secondhand smoke poses a serious threat to human health, shows why all countries should enact a comprehensive smoke-free law that includes all workplaces and public places, including restaurants and bars.
The new JAMA study measured the respiratory health of bar workers in Tayside, Scotland, before and after the country’s smoke-free law took effect. The researchers found that bar workers experienced improvements in both respiratory symptoms, which include cough, wheezing and shortness of breath, and sensory irritation symptoms, which include eye, nose and throat irritation. There was a 26 percent decline in the number of workers experiencing respiratory or sensory symptoms after one month, increasing to a 32.4 percent decline after two months. Bar workers also experienced improvements in lung function, and asthmatic bar workers had less airway inflammation and an increase in quality of life scores.
“This study in one of the world’s most prestigious medical journals shows that smoke-free laws work quickly to protect the workers and the public from the serious health risks of secondhand smoke,” said Peter Ucko, director of the National Council Against Smoking. “The more we learn about the dangers of secondhand smoke the more unacceptable it becomes for anyone to be exposed to these hazards in order to earn a paycheck or go out to a restaurant or bar. Our leaders have a growing obligation to enact stronger smoke-free laws that protect everyone’s health and everyone’s right to breathe clean air.”
The international tobacco control treaty, the Framework Convention on Tobacco Control (FCTC), calls on governments to protect all persons from exposure to tobacco smoke, rather than just specific populations such as children or pregnant women. According to the treaty, smoke-free places should include “indoor workplaces, public transport, indoor public places and other public places.” The treaty became international law on February 27, 2004 and has been ratified by 140 countries, including South Africa. We ratified the Treaty in April 2005
The unacceptability of exposure to secondhand smoke is underscored by the growing number of countries, states and cities that have enacted smoke-free laws, including countries where public smoking has long been considered part of the culture. The latest example is France, which this week announced plans to phase in smoke-free regulations that will extend to restaurants and bars on January 1, 2008. France will join a growing number of countries that have implemented or enacted smoke-free laws, including Ireland, Italy, England (effective 2007), Scotland, Bermuda, Bhutan, New Zealand, Northern Ireland (effective 2007), Norway, Sweden and Uruguay. Now that France’s bistros will be joining Ireland’s pubs and Italy’s cafes in going smoke-free, the message is clear that smoke-free laws can and should be enacted everywhere.
In June, the United States Surgeon General released the most comprehensive scientific report ever issued on the health harms of secondhand smoke. The report concluded 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 there is no safe level of exposure to secondhand smoke, only smoke-free policies provide effective protection, and smoke-free laws protect health without harming business (the latter conclusion is supported by dozens of scientific studies and the experience of the growing number of smoke-free countries, states and cities around the world). The Surgeon General’s conclusion was crystal clear: “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.”
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