Let's Get The Facts
Why We Need to Be A Smoke-free America
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No one should have to choose between their health and their job. Everyone has the right the right to breathe smoke-free air at work.
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The science is clear: there is no safe level of secondhand smoke exposure.
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Secondhand smoke is an occupational hazard for many workers including casino, restaurant, bar, and hotel employees.
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Service employees, along with musicians and entertainers, breathe more secondhand smoke while at work than any other type of employee, and suffer from the same illnesses as smokers.
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Blue Collar employees are less likely than white-collar indoor workers to be covered by smoke-free polices.
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The Dangers of Secondhand Smoke Exposure
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Secondhand smoke contains more than 7,000 chemicals. Hundreds are toxic and about 70 can cause cancer. Secondhand smoke causes lung cancer in adults who have never smoked.
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Secondhand smoke causes nearly 42,000 deaths, including more than 3,000 lung cancer deaths among nonsmoking adults each year.
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Nonsmokers who are exposed to secondhand smoke at work increase their risk of developing lung cancer by 20–30%.
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Nonsmokers who are exposed to secondhand smoke are inhaling many of the same cancer-causing substances as smokers.
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Breathing secondhand smoke can have immediate adverse effects on your blood and blood vessels, increasing the risk of having a heart attack.
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People who already have heart disease are at especially high risk of suffering adverse effects from breathing secondhand smoke and should take special precautions to avoid even brief exposures.