Did you know that bar and restaurant employees are 50 percent more likely than the general population to develop lung cancer, largely because many of them are exposed to secondhand smoke on the job? To protect all Michigan employees from secondhand smoke, House Bill 4163 was created to make all workplaces smoke-free, including bars and restaurants. I support the bill because it protects all Michigan workers from the deadly toxins of secondhand smoke.
According to the U.S. surgeon general, the only effective protection against secondhand smoke is to completely eliminate indoor smoking. Public sentiment for this legislation is growing. Thirty-one other states in the U.S. have already enacted smoke-free laws.
According to a 2005 Campaign for Smokefree Air poll, two-thirds of Michigan’s registered voters are in favor of smoke-free workplace legislation that includes bars and restaurants, and 80 percent said it’s important to work in a smoke-free environment.
As a student, I know firsthand what it’s like to walk into a smoke-filled restaurant and walk right back out the door because of the environment. I’m still waiting for the day when the need to avoid “smoky” restaurants no longer exists and I can enjoy smoke-free air in all public places.
The government already regulates many areas of public health in workplaces and restaurants, from asbestos levels to the temperature at which meat is cooked. Why shouldn’t the government also protect the public from deadly exposure to secondhand smoke? Michigan should join the other 31 states that have enacted smoke-free legislation and pass House Bill 4163. No one should have to choose between their job and their health.
Nicole Wickham
advertising junior
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