To: The Virginia State House, The Virginia State Senate, and Governor Ralph Northam
Ban Cigarette Smoking in all public places and calls with children in Virginia
I am deeply concerned about the fact that Virginia has failed to ban cigarette smoking in all public places and cards with children, and is falling behind 30 states who have already done this. In addition, they are endangering our kids and residents by failing to ban this dangerous substance.
Why is this important?
Here are the statistics regarding tobacco:
Tobacco use is the leading cause of preventable death in the United States, imposing a terrible toll in health, lives, and dollars on families, businesses and government. Tobacco kills more than 480,000 people annually–more than AIDS, alcohol, car accidents, illegal drugs, murders, and suicides combined.
Tobacco costs the U.S. approximately $170 billion in health care expenditures and more than $150 billion in lost productivity each year.
While the United States has made major progress against tobacco use, nearly one in five Americans still smokes, and more than 2,500 kids try their first cigarette each day.
http://www.tobaccofreekids.org/facts_issues/toll_us/
In addition, secondhand smoke causes serious diseases and premature death among nonsmokers.
That's why a growing number of states, cities and countries are enacting laws that require all workplaces and public places to be smoke-free. North Dakota will be the 30th smoke-free state as a result of a ballot initative voters approved on Nov. 6, 2012.
These laws protect everyone's right to breathe clean air.
A Global Movement for Smoke-Free Air
There has been enormous progress in the United States, and a growing movement globally, to enact strong smoke-free laws:
• In the U.S., 30 states, Washington, D.C., Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands, plus hundreds of cities and counties, have enacted strong smoke-free laws that include restaurants and bars. The states are: Arizona, California, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, Hawaii, Illinois, Iowa, Kansas, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Montana, Nebraska, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, North Carolina, North Dakota, Ohio, Oregon, Rhode Island, South Dakota, Utah, Vermont, Washington and Wisconsin.
• A growing number of countries have also passed strong smoke-free laws. These include: Bhutan, Chad, Colombia, Djibouti, Guatemala, Guinea, Iceland, Iran, Ireland, Lithuania, Marshall Islands, Mauritius, New Zealand, Norway, Panama, Turkey, Tuvalu, the United Kingdom, Uruguay and Zambia. All Canadian provinces/territories and Australian states/territories have enacted such laws.
A Toxic Soup of Chemicals and Carcinogens
Secondhand smoke is a poisonous mixture of more than 7,000 chemicals, including hundreds that are toxic and at least 69 that cause cancer. The U.S. Surgeon General and public health agencies around the world have documented overwhelming evidence of the deadly effects of secondhand smoke:
• Secondhand smoke causes lung cancer and heart disease in non-smoking adults. Among babies and children, it causes sudden infant death syndrome (SIDS), low birth weight, respiratory and ear infections, and more severe asthma attacks.
• There is no safe level of exposure to secondhand smoke. Even brief exposure can trigger harmful changes in the cardiovascular system that increases risk of heart attack or stroke.
• In the U.S., secondhand smoke kills about 50,000 people each year, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Worldwide, secondhand smoke kills more than 600,000 people each year, according to a 2010 study by the World Health Organization.
Smoke-Free Laws: The Only Solution
Public health authorities have concluded that the only way to protect nonsmokers from secondhand smoke is to require completely smoke-free workplaces and public places. Other approaches, such as air ventilation systems and separate smoking and non-smoking sections, do not eliminate exposure to secondhand smoke. Numerous scientific studies have also documented that smoke-free policies do not have an adverse economic impact on the hospitality industry (see our Fact Sheet: Smoke-Free Laws Do Not Hurt Business at Restaurants and Bars).
I would like to know why Virginia is lagging behind the rest of the country in passing legislation to protect it’s residents and kids? Even Washington DC and Tennessee have passed laws protecting our right to breathe clean air. Instead, all I see is our representatives protecting the tobacco lobby and it’s addicts and our state become more unhealthy with obesity rates at an all time high.
I’m asking you to sign this petition to our state representatives to introduce legislation to ban all smoking in public places and in cars where kids are present This is directly affecting me and others in our society and I'm sick of seeing our kids addicted to these products.
Tobacco use is the leading cause of preventable death in the United States, imposing a terrible toll in health, lives, and dollars on families, businesses and government. Tobacco kills more than 480,000 people annually–more than AIDS, alcohol, car accidents, illegal drugs, murders, and suicides combined.
Tobacco costs the U.S. approximately $170 billion in health care expenditures and more than $150 billion in lost productivity each year.
While the United States has made major progress against tobacco use, nearly one in five Americans still smokes, and more than 2,500 kids try their first cigarette each day.
http://www.tobaccofreekids.org/facts_issues/toll_us/
In addition, secondhand smoke causes serious diseases and premature death among nonsmokers.
That's why a growing number of states, cities and countries are enacting laws that require all workplaces and public places to be smoke-free. North Dakota will be the 30th smoke-free state as a result of a ballot initative voters approved on Nov. 6, 2012.
These laws protect everyone's right to breathe clean air.
A Global Movement for Smoke-Free Air
There has been enormous progress in the United States, and a growing movement globally, to enact strong smoke-free laws:
• In the U.S., 30 states, Washington, D.C., Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands, plus hundreds of cities and counties, have enacted strong smoke-free laws that include restaurants and bars. The states are: Arizona, California, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, Hawaii, Illinois, Iowa, Kansas, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Montana, Nebraska, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, North Carolina, North Dakota, Ohio, Oregon, Rhode Island, South Dakota, Utah, Vermont, Washington and Wisconsin.
• A growing number of countries have also passed strong smoke-free laws. These include: Bhutan, Chad, Colombia, Djibouti, Guatemala, Guinea, Iceland, Iran, Ireland, Lithuania, Marshall Islands, Mauritius, New Zealand, Norway, Panama, Turkey, Tuvalu, the United Kingdom, Uruguay and Zambia. All Canadian provinces/territories and Australian states/territories have enacted such laws.
A Toxic Soup of Chemicals and Carcinogens
Secondhand smoke is a poisonous mixture of more than 7,000 chemicals, including hundreds that are toxic and at least 69 that cause cancer. The U.S. Surgeon General and public health agencies around the world have documented overwhelming evidence of the deadly effects of secondhand smoke:
• Secondhand smoke causes lung cancer and heart disease in non-smoking adults. Among babies and children, it causes sudden infant death syndrome (SIDS), low birth weight, respiratory and ear infections, and more severe asthma attacks.
• There is no safe level of exposure to secondhand smoke. Even brief exposure can trigger harmful changes in the cardiovascular system that increases risk of heart attack or stroke.
• In the U.S., secondhand smoke kills about 50,000 people each year, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Worldwide, secondhand smoke kills more than 600,000 people each year, according to a 2010 study by the World Health Organization.
Smoke-Free Laws: The Only Solution
Public health authorities have concluded that the only way to protect nonsmokers from secondhand smoke is to require completely smoke-free workplaces and public places. Other approaches, such as air ventilation systems and separate smoking and non-smoking sections, do not eliminate exposure to secondhand smoke. Numerous scientific studies have also documented that smoke-free policies do not have an adverse economic impact on the hospitality industry (see our Fact Sheet: Smoke-Free Laws Do Not Hurt Business at Restaurants and Bars).
I would like to know why Virginia is lagging behind the rest of the country in passing legislation to protect it’s residents and kids? Even Washington DC and Tennessee have passed laws protecting our right to breathe clean air. Instead, all I see is our representatives protecting the tobacco lobby and it’s addicts and our state become more unhealthy with obesity rates at an all time high.
I’m asking you to sign this petition to our state representatives to introduce legislation to ban all smoking in public places and in cars where kids are present This is directly affecting me and others in our society and I'm sick of seeing our kids addicted to these products.