Media release: February 6, 2007
Australian states and territories have been
urged to separate smoking from working areas, following a new report from a UN
agency showing passive smoke exposure doubles the risk of lung cancer in
non-smoking workers.
A
review of 22 studies and more than 4000 cases by the UN’s International Agency
for Cancer Research (IARC) was published online this week in the American
Journal of Public Health. *
The
authors conclude that workplace exposure to secondhand smoke should be
"eliminated" and recommends "tougher regulations and laws"
against smoking in public places.
The
eleven member organisations of the SmokeFree Australia coalition** have urged
Australian jurisdictions – particularly NT, NSW, Victoria and SA – to take
heed of the report’s findings and act to end the continued exposure of
employees in dangerously smoky working areas of pubs and clubs.
Says
Stafford Sanders, co-ordinator of SmokeFree Australia:
“This serious workplace hazard can’t be removed by opening folding
doors or knocking out a wall – it can only be dealt with effectively by
separating all smoking areas from working areas, as Queensland and Tasmania have
done and the ACT appears to be doing.
“Other
states have not set any date for unservicing smoking areas, and until they do
there remains a risk of more preventable deaths and disease caused by these
unsafe workplaces - not just cancers but also heart disease, respiratory
conditions and many other serious illnesses.
“In
NSW, SA and Victoria, promises of ‘total’ indoor smoke bans have not been
delivered – thousands of barworkers and entertainers are facing an indefinite
future of working in mostly-enclosed smoking areas.
“This
compromises public health, undermines workplace safety laws, conflicts with
disability discrimination, and leaves the public confused. It is not what the
community wants or expects.
“We
call on all states to end this preventable harm and to ensure that any remaining
smoking areas are separate and unserviced.”
*
Review abstract at
www.ajph.org/cgi/content/abstract/AJPH.2004.061275v1
Comment:
Stafford Sanders, SmokeFree Australia
ph. (02) 9334-1823
m. 0412-070-194
* SmokeFree Australia coalition
for clean safe workplaces:
Liquor,
Hospitality and Miscellaneous Workers’ Union; Musicians’ Union of Australia; Media, Entertainment and Arts Alliance; Australian Council of
Trade Unions; Action on Smoking and Health Australia; The Cancer Council
Australia; National Heart Foundation of Australia; Australian Council on Smoking
and Health; Non-Smokers’ Movement of Australia; Australian Medical
Association; Asthma and Allergy Research Institute.