Media release: July 15, 2008
Health and employee organisations have welcomed action taken by seven
Sydney councils to make outdoor dining areas smokefree – and have called for
federal co-ordination of a total ban on smoking in dining and all other working
areas.
The
eleven organisations in the SmokeFree Australia coalition have urged all states
and territories, with federal co-ordination if necessary, to legislate to end
smoking in all spaces in which people work – including al fresco dining
areas which currently expose workers to hazardous secondhand smoke.
SmokeFree
Australia has welcomed the release of a survey of local councils in NSW by the
National Heart Foundation*, showing that at least seven Sydney councils have
acted to make al fresco dining on council-owned land smokefree.
The
national workplace coalition has also told a national review of Occupational
Health and Safety laws that the Federal Government should co-ordinate action by
all jurisdictions to tighten their OH&S laws to completely remove the
workplace hazard of secondhand smoke.
Says
coalition co-ordinator Stafford Sanders: “These councils have acted to bypass
the weak smokefree laws of the NSW government
to protect public and particularly employee health in their communities.
“Smoking
should be removed from dining and all other working areas, however enclosed or
open, as an urgent occupational health and safety priority.
“Queensland
has pretty much done this by state legislation; Tasmania has almost achieved it;
other states and territories have yet to make these areas safe for
working in.
“Good
research evidence shows that secondhand tobacco smoke is a health hazard,
especially to workers continuously or repeatedly exposed – including in
partly-enclosed or even fully open areas.
Food and drink service workers in most jurisdictions are exposed daily to
this toxic workplace hazard.
“Tobacco
smoke contains many toxins including more than 40 known human carcinogens, some
of them in the most acutely cancer-causing category. Exposure significantly
increases risk of heart disease, strokes, vascular damage, serious respiratory
disease, several cancers, sexual and reproductive harm, and more.
“If
we are to have effective safe workplace laws, they should not be sidelined in
practice to weak smokefree places laws that are a recipe for evasion of OH&S
responsibilities.
“We
urge the Federal Government to co-ordinate a speedy end to this exposure in all
jurisdictions.”
See
NHF Sydney release at www.heartfoundation.org.au/document/NHF/HF_Smokefree_Metro_Final1.pdf
See health evidence at www.ashaust.org.au/SF’03/health.htm
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.