SUMMARY: MAIN ARGUMENTS & EVIDENCE FOR 100% SMOKEFREE WORKPLACES

Secondhand smoke (SHS) causes serious and potentially fatal health harm  www.ashaust.org.au/SF’03/health.htm
SHS is a highly toxic, carcinogenic air contaminant. There is no safe level of exposure to it. The overwhelming weight of independent research and health authorities right up to the World Health Organisation agree: SHS increases risk of death, causing (in both smokers and non-smokers): heart disease, strokes, cancers, chronic respiratory diseases, and much more.

Secondhand smoke is a toxic workplace contaminant - with employees at high risk   www.ashaust.org.au/SF’03/health.htm     See latest under HARM TO WORKERS
Employees - including permanent, part-time, casual and contract food and drink service workers, entertainers, cleaners and other people working in many pubs, clubs, gambling rooms, restaurants, cafes, as well as some prisons, some small offices and factories, performance venues, working vehicles and other workplaces, are especially at risk because of their repeated/continuous exposure. Evidence shows such repeated exposure can be very harmful even at low doses and even in unenclosed/partly enclosed areas. Smoky workplaces are unsafe and unhealthy, conflict with Occupational Health and Safety rights and with our obligations under international law. SmokeFree Australia (including the ACTU and relevant unions) support 100% smokefree workplaces, whether enclosed, partly- or un-enclosed. 

Partial smoke bans and voluntary/"opt out" provisions are not acceptable   www.ashaust.org.au/SF'03/partly.htm  
Some states have persisted with inadequate partial solutions involving "outdoor" or "unenclosed" areas (many are partly or even mostly enclosed), many still requiring staffing. This has resulted in measurable exposure well over international guidelines. Preventable workplace exposure to a high-level toxic carcinogen is unacceptable. Any smoking-permitted area should be substantially unenclosed, separate and unstaffed - as in Queensland. See table at www.ashaust.org.au/SF'03/law.htm   Public opinion strongly supports this (see below). Partial bans not based on health evidence create inconsistencies and encourage evasion. Voluntary or "opt out" provisions for employees are unacceptable because they encourage people most desperate for jobs/shifts to volunteer to work in unsafe conditions. We do not allow this for other airborne hazards (e.g. asbestos) and should not allow it for SHS.

Ventilation and indoor separation do not work   www.ashaust.org.au/SF’03/ventilation.htm
Approaches to the problem based on ventilation or separate indoor "smoking rooms" do not provide adequate protection, says all independent research. Such methods, long advocated by the tobacco industry in an attempt to stave off smokefree workplace laws, are thoroughly discredited.   

Smoky workplaces are inconsistent with our obligations under international law   www.ashaust.org.au/SF’03/law.htm
Australia's ratification of the Framework Convention on Tobacco Control means all levels of government are committed under Article 8 to fully protect all people from SHS by making all indoor working areas 100% smokefree. Treaty guidelines define "Indoor" as an area of any enclosure, whether a roof or one or more walls.

Smoky workplaces undermine OH&S and disability access   www.ashaust.org.au/SF’03/law.htm
They conflict with OH&S laws establishing an employer's legal duty to provide a safe workplace and to take reasonable steps to remove dangers. No-one should be working in any smoking area. Some work safety authorities have not enforced OH&S laws consistently to guarantee elimination of SHS from all workplaces. Smoky workplaces also undermine anti-discrimination laws in effectively barring people with smoke-affected disabilities such as heart and respiratory conditions and diabetes (total estimated 10% of the community) from employment and access. Says the Human Rights Commission: "A smoky room is as much a barrier to an asthmatic as is a flight of steps to a person in a wheelchair."

The community strongly supports smokefree workplaces   www.ashaust.org.au/SF’03/support.htm
Many surveys from all over Australia show overwhelming and increasing community support for this. A majority of regular pub/club patrons and a majority of smokers also support it. Support is highest among 18-24 year olds. Public opinion does NOT see retaining partly-enclosed smoking areas as an adequate solution.

Health leaders strongly support 100% smokefree workplaces   www.ashaust.org.au/SF’03/partners.htm
In Australia, strong supporters of this measure to be implemented as soon as possible include: the Preventative Health Taskforce (see its 2009 report pp. 182-183 at www.preventativehealth.org.au/internet/preventativehealth/publishing.nsf/Content/nphs-roadmap/$File/nphs-roadmap-4.pdf); the Chief Medical Officer of the Federal Health Department, the AMA, the National Occupational Health and Safety Commission, major public health groups, medical colleges and many more.

Smokefree reforms do not harm drinking and dining trade   www.ashaust.org.au/SF’03/economic.htm
Despite decades of misleading and unfounded claims by tobacco companies and their allies in the gambling/hospitality lobby, worldwide and Australian independent evidence consistently shows smokefree laws do NOT harm overall hospitality patronage, sales or jobs; they do NOT reduce food or drink sales. Opponents exaggerate small and temporary "hiccups" in gambling revenue, which are drawn from exploiting nicotine-addicted heavy gamblers and not ethically defensible. Any gambling impact is far outweighed by broadened patronage as families return to smokefree venues; and more still by falling health costs. Smoke bans save on air-conditioning, fires, insurance, cleaning... and potential costly legal actions by staff or patrons harmed. Pub and club managers are concerned about the health risks and accept that smokefree laws are inevitable.  See  www.ashaust.org.au/SF’03/support.htm

Smokefree venues and smokers’ rights   www.ashaust.org.au/SF’03/smokers.htm
Smokefree laws do not "ban smokers" – just the smoke. It’s your legal right to drive, but not on the footpath; you can legally use a chainsaw – but not wave it around in a crowded bar. Most smokers reasonably accept that their right to smoke does not extend to harming others. 85% of smokers say in surveys that they want to quit – smokefree reforms encourage this. Research says smokefree laws especially encourage quitting by younger smokers - the tobacco industry's main recruiting target.

Smokefree venues lead to clear health benefits   www.ashaust.org.au/SF’03/effective.htm
Smokefree workplaces help dramatically reduce smoking rates and provide clear-cut health benefits, say studies from around the world. They quickly and significantly improve the health outlook of hospitality workers. They quickly and significantly reduce hospitalisations. They do NOT lead to more people smoking at home.

100% smokefree venues will help gamblers' health and help reduce problem gaming   www.ashaust.org.au/lv4/GamblingBrief09.doc 
All enclosed or partly-enclosed gambling areas should be made smokefree in the interests of the health of staff and patrons and as a Responsible Gaming measure. These should include "high roller", "premium" and "private" rooms currently exempted in some states. Exploiting nicotine-addicted gamblers is not ethically defensible for either businesses or governments. Smoke bans will improve gamblers’ health, says research, and will also help prevent gamblers getting into worse financial hardship.      www.ashaust.org.au/SF'03/economic.htm    

World trend towards smokefree workplaces   www.ashaust.org.au/SF'03/news.htm
Encouraged by Article 8 of the worldwide Framework Convention on Tobacco Control, more countries are moving to introduce 100% smokefree laws in all workplaces including pubs and clubs - while some Australian states and territories lag further and further behind these best practices.

Smokefree workplaces: no more exemptions, no more delays.   “It’s about health – and it’s about time.”

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