A new poll released January 24 finds that Hoosiers overwhelmingly support a law prohibiting smoking inside all workplaces. By a strong majority (70 percent to 27 percent), Indiana voters support a law that would prohibit smoking in indoor workplaces and public places, including restaurants and bars.

This support comes from a broad-based coalition of voters across the state, including 73 percent of Republicans, 66 percent of Democrats, and 73 percent of Independents.

“Voters know that secondhand smoke is a health hazard, and this poll shows that they want a strong law protecting their right to breathe clean air,” said Danielle Patterson, Co-Chair of the Indiana Campaign for Smokefree Air. ”The Legislature should listen to the people of Indiana and Governor Daniels and act quickly to make all workplaces smoke-free.”

The survey of 500 registered voters was released by the Indiana Campaign for Smokefree Air, a coalition of health groups including the American Heart Association, American Lung Association, and Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids.

The survey also found among Indiana voters:

• 85 percent believe that secondhand smoke is a health hazard, including 58 percent who say it is a serious health hazard.
• 71 percent believe the right of employees and customers to breathe clean air in restaurants and bars is more important than the right of smokers to smoke and business owners to allow smoking.
• 84 percent feel all workers should be protected from exposure to secondhand smoke in the workplace.

Hoosiers recognize the benefits of a smoke-free environment, saying that restaurants and bars would be healthier and more enjoyable if they were smoke-free. Nearly nine out of ten voters (88 percent) believe that these places would be healthier, and 84 percent want to be able to enjoy Indiana’s restaurants and bars without smelling like smoke at the end of the evening.

“Secondhand smoke is harmful to everyone, and everyone should be protected from it,” said Kevin O’Flaherty, Co-Chair of the Indiana Campaign for Smokefree Air.  “It is a matter of fairness – everyone should have the right to breathe clean air at work. The Legislature should reject exemptions that would force some workers to continue putting their health at risk in order to earn a paycheck.”

The Indiana House is expected to take up the smoke-free legislation (HB 1149) this week. Governor Daniels has called on the Legislature to pass the strongest possible law with the fewest possible exemptions.

The need for protection from secondhand smoke in all workplaces and public places has never been clearer. Secondhand smoke contains thousands of chemicals, many of which are toxic (such as formaldehyde, arsenic, and lead), and is a proven cause of cancer, heart disease, and respiratory illnesses.  Twenty-nine states currently have strong smoke-free laws that include restaurants and bars.

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ClearWay Minnesota (SM), in partnership with ECHO Minnesota, has produced a unique television program warning that secondhand smoke should remain a public health priority for Minnesotans – particularly among Minnesota’s ethnic communities.

Secondhand Smoke in Our Communities will air on public television stations across Minnesota, as well as online, beginning January 15, 2012. Each program will feature guests from Minnesota’s ethnic communities with a goal of helping all Minnesotans understand the dangers of exposure to secondhand smoke. The program will be broadcast in eight languages, including English, Spanish, Hmong, Somali, Karen, Vietnamese, Lao and Khmer.

“Secondhand smoke is harmful to all Minnesotans’ health, but diverse communities experience some of the greatest harm,” said David Willoughby, Chief Executive Officer of ClearWay Minnesota. “Tobacco companies use clever marketing practices to make their dangerous products attractive to these communities. This program offers a distinct way to tell the story of tobacco’s impact in all Minnesota and to educate the specific populations that are most at-risk.”

Tobacco companies spent nearly $200 million in Minnesota in 2008, targeting people based on factors including income, education level, ethnic background or lifestyle. The report Unfiltered: A Revealing Look at Today’s Tobacco Industry gave examples of minority-directed tobacco advertising, and showed that rates of tobacco use among some ethnic communities are greatly outpacing those of the general and Caucasian populations.

Additionally, rates of quitting tobacco use can be substantially lower in these communities. ”The impact of tobacco is regressive,” said Willoughby, “with our ethnic and low-income populations facing disproportionate risk.” ”ECHO Minnesota’s television program provides a unique venue for bringing important health information to ethnic communities,” said Lillian McDonald, Executive Director of ECHO Minnesota.

“Many Minnesotans who speak limited or no English may be unaware of the dangers of secondhand smoke and tobacco use in general. We are pleased to help bridge that information gap.” Nationwide, secondhand smoke is responsible for more than 40,000 deaths in nonsmokers each year from cancer and heart disease. Secondhand smoke contains 11 known cancer-causing poisons and even more toxins.

“Tobacco’s impact and health risks do not discriminate – but tobacco companies’ marketing efforts do,” Willoughby said. “We need to continue strong public policy efforts together with tobacco prevention and smoking cessation services in the communities targeted most by tobacco companies. Partnering withECHO Minnesota provides an invaluable opportunity to protect the health of all Minnesotans.”

Secondhand Smoke in Our Communities is 20-30 minutes in length. It will air on tpt’s Minnesota Channel (Comcast Channel 202 or 243, depending on location) and is available any time for streaming at www.echominnesota.org. The broadcast schedule is as follows:

• Jan. 15 at 7 p.m. in English – Guests: Betsy Brock, Association for Nonsmokers, and Cathy Stephens, LAAMPP Fellow
• Jan. 15 at 7:30 p.m. in Spanish – Guest: Patricia Baker, LAAMPP Fellow
• Jan. 22 at 7 p.m. in Hmong – Guest: Thomas Yang, STEEP Project
• Jan. 22 at 7:20 p.m. in Somali – Guests: Mohamed Mohamud, Confederation of Somali Community in Minnesota, and Saeed Fahia, Executive Director of Confederation of Somali Community in Minnesota
• Jan. 22 at 7:40 p.m. in Karen – Guests: Rom Touy, Cambodian Health Educator, and Tonara Hing, St. Joseph’s Bethesda
• Jan. 29 at 7 p.m. in Vietnamese – Guests: Hien Nguyen, STEEP Project, and Tam Do, LAAMPP Fellow
• Jan. 29 at 7:20 p.m. in Lao – Guests: Monemany Daoheuang, STEEP Project, and Sunny Chanthanouvong, Executive Director of Lao Assistance Center of Minnesota
• Jan. 29 at 7:40 p.m. in Khmer – Guests: Misecal Htway, First Karen Baptist Church, and Saysay Eh, First Karen Baptist Church

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Wonder why your child’s classmate seems to be more absent than unusual and their seat is frequently empty in the classroom? Well, a new study finds children who live with smokers miss more school due to illness than those who live in households with non-smokers, according to a new study published in the journal Pediatrics.

Researchers found data from the 2005 National Health Interview Survey, which tracked how many days of school children ages 6 to 11 miss and the reason for their absence. (The study was not without limitations. Children over 12 were excluded from the study because of the possibility that exposure could be due to their own smoking).

The participants of that study were asked to evaluate each child’s general health and to answer the following questions: how many people smoked inside the home, how many school days the child missed due to illness or injury during the previous year, whether the child had three or more ear infections during the previous year, whether the child had a chest cold or gastrointestinal illness during the preceding two weeks and whether the child had been diagnosed with asthma, and if so, whether the child had any recent asthma attacks.

Of the 3,087 children whose information was analyzed for this study, more than 14 percent lived in a home with at least one person who smoked in the house, 8 percent lived with one household smoker and 6 percent with two or more, which represents 2.6 million children nationwide.

Children living with one in-home smoker had an average of 1.06 more days absent, and those living with two or more had 1.54 more days absent than did children living in homes where no one smoked indoors. The research also suggests that families could reduce absenteeism by 24 to 34 percent if smoking was eliminated from their households.

According to the study, about one third of children in the United States live with a smoker. Among children aged 3 to 11, at least 56 percent have detectable levels of a chemical called serum cotinine, which is an indication of tobacco smoke exposure. Cotinine is a breakdown of nicotine in the body and it can be measured by analyzing levels in the blood, urine or saliva.

Researchers like Dr. Douglas Levy, the study’s principal investigator and Assistant in Health Care Policy at the Mongan Institute for Health Policy, agrees this establishes a link between household smoking and two specific respiratory illnesses. But it seems missed school days and health issues are not the only effects of secondhand smoke for young children.

Researchers also calculated the potential costs associated with the need to care for children absent from school due to smoke-exposure related illness. Costs to the family include lost income for parents without paid time off, the costs to employers of the lost work, and the inability of caregivers not employed outside the home to take care of usual household tasks.

The total impact nationwide is $227 million in lost wages and household work for the families of the 2.6 million children living with smokers and for their employers. Overall secondhand smoke affects children’s education, health, and income.

Levy’s advice to parents? “If you are a smoker do not smoke around your kids whether it be at home or in the car. Even better advice is to try to quit smoking.”

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