35
A Good Day's Work: A Guide for Tobacco-Free Work Sites in Arizona, First Edition,
1999
laws and policies, tobacco interests have formed `smoker's rights'
groups throughout the U.S.
The largest of such groups, the National Smoker's Alliance (NSA),
states that they are "a non-profit membership organization
comprised of adults who support accommodation of smokers and
non-smokers in public places and in the workplace." Yet further
investigation by Americans for Nonsmokers Rights indicates that the
National Smoker's Alliance was organized and principally funded
by Philip Morris, Inc., the largest tobacco manufacturer in the
world.
The tobacco industry frequently argues that because most studies
[dealing with ETS] were based on residential exposures,
secondhand smoke has not been proven a hazard in the workplace.
Yet a substance capable of causing cancer in one environment is
certainly capable of causing it in other environments where
exposures levels are comparable, as is the case with residential and
workplace exposure to secondhand smoke. In fact, the 1994
Fontham study found a slightly higher risk for workplace exposure
than for residential exposures (EPA, Setting the Record Straight:
Secondhand Smoke Is a Preventable Health Risk, June 1994).
Most tobacco companies support the `accommodation' approach
to work site policies stating that, "accommodation policies allow for
both the smoker and nonsmoker in a fair and equitable manner".
Yet these programs do not adequately address environmental
tobacco smoke issues such as impaired health, increased liability
and the economic hardship of installing high-level air conditioning
units.
Summary :
35 A Good Day's Work: A Guide for Tobacco-Free Work Sites in Arizona, First Edition, 1999 laws and policies, tobacco interests have formed `smoker's rights' groups throughout the U.S. The largest of such groups, the National Smoker's Alliance (NSA), states that they are "a non-profit membership organization comprised of adults who support accommodation of smokers and non-smokers in public places and in the workplace."
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tobacco,smokers,workplace,smoke,accommodation,policies,work,exposures,yet,secondhand,residential,rights,largest